


Afternoon Tea

by toribird



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ba Sing Se AU, Bad Flirting: the reprise, Gen, Idiots to friends to lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, follows season two (kind of), i will be updating the tags, jin and zuko are friends and it’s cute, jin is zukos wingman, the gaang comes along later in the story, there’s no homophobia in the atla universe in this AU bc I’m gay and said so, zuko makes friends and iroh is so proud
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:53:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 32,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24718579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toribird/pseuds/toribird
Summary: Of all the places he could have walked into--of all the tea shops in Ba Sing Se--(of which there are many)--he had chosen the one that Prince-fucking-Zuko worked at.Or: Early on during his time in Ba Sing Se, Sokka stops for a cup of tea. This small action changes everything.
Relationships: Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 321
Kudos: 2654





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back! Again! With more atla fic!! I know this AU has been done a lot, but it's hard to find one that hits quite what I'm looking for. 
> 
> I think this will be around four or maybe five chapters. Chapter two is already written (just needs to be edited) and chapter three has been started already. 
> 
> Anyway, these two are so fun to write. Enjoy!

This is probably one of the weirdest days of Sokka’s life. 

And that’s saying something, especially taking into consideration the past few months of his life. 

All he had wanted was a quick cup of tea. Sokka’s been in Ba Sing Se for about a week now and has spent basically all his days looking for Appa. He’s been tasked to look through the Lower Ring and today he’d spent _hours_ searching, to no avail. 

So, when he had noticed the sun creeping down in the sky, he had thought, maybe he should treat himself? He _was_ in the lower ring, but tea was always a safe--and cheap--option. 

He hadn’t spent much time considering what shop to go into, and had chosen the first one he saw. 

And of all the places he could have walked into--of all the tea shops in Ba Sing Se--(of which there are many)--he had chosen the one that Prince-fucking-Zuko worked at. 

Which, hello? _What?_

So now he’s sitting here, nursing (an admittedly, pretty good) cup of jasmine tea, waiting for the shop to close so he can thoroughly question the fire nation prince and find out just _what_ exactly he’s doing in a tea shop in _Ba Sing Se_ of all places. 

Sokka sips his tea, and glares at the boy. 

Zuko’s luck is fucking horrible. 

He knows this. His father knows this. The universe knows this. _Everyone_ knows this. 

So he shouldn’t be surprised, really, when his unluckiness rears its ugly head in his direction. He _shouldn’t_ be surprised when the customer whose order he starts to take turns out to be that watertribe boy who travels with the Avatar. 

Typical. 

Zuko has his head down, purposely avoiding eye contact in favor of looking at his notebook that he uses to write down orders in, so he doesn’t realize who’s in front of him until he hears a “holy _shit,_ ” and whips his head up. 

He stares at the other boy in shock, and then Zuko slaps his hand over the boy’s mouth when he tries to say his name. 

The Water Tribe boy looks affronted, but Zuko leans down and hisses in his ear, “Don’t say my name out loud.”

He releases his hand, and glares at the boy, daring him to test him. The other teen (Sokka? Sokko? He thinks his name is something with an S), glares at him with narrow and suspicious eyes, but doesn’t say anything. 

Zuko clears his throat awkwardly, and does his best to sound normal. “Yes, one jasmine tea coming up,” and he goes to the back to prepare a cup before Sokka ( _yes, his name is definitely_ Sokka, he decides) can say anything else. His Uncle isn’t here today--he’s out running errands, picking up various things for the shop--and Zuko isn’t sure if he’s relieved or not. He could really use his advice on how they should deal with this situation, but knowing his Uncle, he’d probably just serve tea to the boy. 

Which is, admittedly, what Zuko is about to do as well. But, what else is he supposed to do right now?

So he starts the tea and sends a silent prayer that Sokka isn’t running off to sell him out to the nearest Earth Kingdom guards. After he comes back out, he lets out a sigh of relief that the other teenager is still there. _Good_ , he thinks, maybe he can convince him not to sell him and his uncle out. 

The close call they had had with Jet was enough to rattle him, though he is loath to admit that. He doesn’t _want_ to be in Ba Sing Se serving tea at some shitty little shop, but he doesn’t really have a choice. It’s here, or his sister. There’s no contest, really. 

Walking back over, he sets a cup of tea in front of Sokka, and when he leans down, he whispers, “I’m done in an hour. Wait around, and I’ll explain,” before he stands back up, and walks away to finish his shift. 

Zuko spends the next hour trying to think of what to say, and purposely ignoring the daggers being sent his direction. 

Once the hour is done, Zuko takes off his apron and hangs it up in the back. Sokka’s still there, his head now stuck in a menu and money laying on the table next to his empty tea cup. Zuko’s still not sure _what_ he’s going to say to Sokka, but he approaches his table nonetheless. Sokka looks up at him and then pulls a face. 

“Ugh, _finally_ ,” he says, putting down the menu. “I’ve read over that menu like, six times.” 

Zuko ignores that and instead just jerks his head towards the door. “Outside,” he says, and then he turns and walks towards the exit, assuming that Sokka will follow. 

He hears some grumbling, but chooses to ignore that too. 

Zuko leads him around to the back of the tea shop, where it’s isolated enough that they won’t be overheard. He turns around and faces the Water Tribe teen--but stalls, still not knowing what to say. Sokka, for his part, crosses his arms and gives Zuko a look that clearly says _I’m waiting._

“Well?” he asks. “Is there any reason why I _shouldn’t_ go directly to the Earth King and tell him that the Fire Nation has invaded Ba Sing Se?”

Zuko takes a deep breath. “I--we’re not here to _invade_ the Earth Kingdom. My uncle and I are here as refugees. No one knows we’re firebenders, we aren’t trying to cause any trouble.”

Sokka snorts. “Refugees? Seriously?”

Zuko grits his teeth. “ _Yes._ Seriously. In case you didn’t notice last time, I’m not exactly on good terms with my family,” he says, grimacing at the thought of his sister. 

Sokka gives Zuko another look, and the Prince moves his gaze to the ground. He _really_ doesn’t want to be run out of Ba Sing Se, but he wonders if he’s making the right call right now. He knows that if this boy is here it must mean that the _Avatar_ is here too--that he’s somewhere in the city. His one shot at going home, his one shot out of this shitty tea shop, is probably galavanting around the city. 

But, there’s a part of him that’s starting to doubt that. He knows it’s treasonous to even consider--his father gave him a task to complete, but--

But, he’s not sure that he’d be welcomed back even with the Avatar in hand. He knows his uncle certainly thinks that, though he hasn’t told him so outright. 

“Alright,” Sokka finally says. 

“Alright?” Zuko parrots back, his eyebrow going up. “Just like that?”

Sokka rolls his eyes. “Listen, it’s not like I trust you or anything. But you seem sincere, and your sister is kind of scary.” 

Zuko blinks. He hadn’t thought it’d be that easy. “Ok,” he says, turning, “I guess I’ll be going now.”

“Ah ah ah--” Sokka says, grabbing Zuko’s arm. “Not so fast fireboy. Like I said, I don’t trust you yet. If you want me to really believe you, and believe that you’ve changed, I’m gonna need to see proof.” 

“...Proof?” He asks. 

“Yeah!” Sokka says, waving his hand around. “I need to see with my own two eyes that you’re good now, and that you won’t come hunt down Aang as soon as I turn my back. So, I’m going to be keeping an eye on you until I’m convinced.”

“You’re going to stalk me?” Zuko asks bluntly.

“What! No!” Sokka says. “It’s more like...surveillance.”

Zuko cannot believe this is happening. “No,” he says, and turns to leave again. 

“You can’t just tell me no!” Sokka says, running to block his exit. 

“I think I just did,” Zuko tells him, trying to get past Sokka. “I don’t want some annoying kid following me around,” Zuko tells him. 

“Ok first of all, rude. Second of all, we’re like the same age dude,” Sokka says, holding up his fingers. “And third of all, you kind of don’t have a choice. Either you let me do this, or I turn you in. Your choice.” 

_Fuck._ He’s right and Zuko has to take another deep breath to calm down. It would not help his case if he blew up at Sokka. He has to agree, but he isn’t happy about it. 

“Fine,” he grits out. “Whatever will convince you the fastest. Can I go now? Or are you going to follow me home?”

Sokka considers that for a second. “You know what? I think I will! I should probably know where you live if I’m gonna be conducting surveillance.” 

Zuko wants to kick himself. _Great._

Sokka makes his way back towards the upper ring after walking Zuko home.

 _Tui and La_ it is so weird that he knows where the Fire Nation prince lives. The walk back to Zuko’s tiny apartment that he apparently shares with his uncle was, to put it mildly, extremely fucking awkward. The dude obviously has no sense of humor and is wound tighter than a saber toothed lionmoose. 

But he seemed to be telling the truth, and Sokka’s not a _monster_. He’d be handing Zuko over to the Dai Li, and if they decided to kick him out, he’d go to Azula. Sokka shivers at the thought of her. 

Climbing up the steps to their house, he pauses before the door and considers what he will tell the others. He should tell them, he reasons, that the guy who chased them around the world is in Ba Sing Se and _knows_ that they’re here too. 

He should tell them, he knows. But he opens the door to their house, and sees his sister, with bags under her eyes, trying to comfort Aang, who’s obviously upset at the lack of news about Appa, and he pauses. 

“Hey Snoozles,” Toph says to him. “Where have you been?” 

“I got caught up with some stuff,” he says vaguely. 

Aang looks up at Sokka. “Did you hear any news?” he asks, eyes hopeful. Katara turns to look at him too, her eyes curious as well. 

He hates disappointing Aang day after day. 

_Spirits,_ they’re all so tired. 

“I’m sorry, Aang,” he says. “No new news on Appa.” 

He hopes he’s not making a big mistake. 

Sokka, as he soon comes to realize, has made a _huge_ fucking mistake. He thought trailing Zuko would be interesting, or more exciting. It is not. It’s the opposite of exciting. It is, he realizes, _extremely boring._

It’s only been three days, but all Zuko does is work, make runs to the market, and go home. 

He lets his thoughts be known to the firebender while he’s accompanying Zuko to the market, _again._

For his part, Zuko doesn’t seem too amused at Sokka’s observation. He shoots Sokka a glare, and pays for a box of tea for the shop. 

“Why are you complaining? Would you rather I chase you around the city and try to capture you?” he asks dryly. 

“Maybe!” Sokka says, his arms flying up. “Your life is so boring and… _normal!_ It’s not that interesting, no offense.” 

Zuko closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Like I said,” he tells Sokka, obviously trying to keep his temper down, “my uncle and I are _refugees._ I’m sorry my life isn’t more exciting.” 

Sokka resists the urge to roll his eyes; Zuko doesn’t know how to take a joke.

“Just saying! You’d think the life of a prince would be more exciting.” 

And suddenly there’s a hand over his mouth again and Zuko has him pinned against a wall. 

“Don’t say shit like that,” he hisses. “If anyone finds out who I am--” he stops and wrenches his hand away and looks at Sokka, his expression a mix of anger and shock. “Did you-- _did you just lick my hand?”_

Sokka shrugs. “Made you let go, didn’t it?”

Zuko wrinkles his nose, glares at him and wipes his hand on his robes. “You’re weird.” 

Eh, he’s been called worse. Sokka pays the comment no mind and follows Zuko as they head back towards the tea shop. 

“Listen, sorry. Won’t happen again, I promise,” Sokka says easily. Zuko glances at him, but doesn’t say anything as they keep walking. 

“So,” Sokka says, digging his hands into his pockets. “What’d you do to piss off your sister like that?” 

Zuko looks surprised, and then his face falls back into that oh so familiar grimace. “No,” he tells Sokka, and keeps walking. 

“Excuse me?” Sokka says. “What do you mean, no? I’m just trying to make conversation.”

The firebender shakes his head. “You’re unbelievable.” 

“Hey! It’s a valid question!” Sokka says, throwing his hands up. 

“I agreed to let you follow me around, not to tell you my life story.” 

“Yeesh, ok. Don’t chew off my head for trying to make small talk,” Sokka says, stuffing his hands back into his pockets. 

“Your idea of small talk is to ask someone why they’re on the run from their family?” Zuko asks dryly as they turn a corner and approach the tea shop. 

Sokka’s about to reply with a dry comment when he sees Zuko’s grimace deepen, if that’s possible. 

“What is it?” Sokka asks. 

“Nothing, it's just--” he starts and stops, and then looks embarrassed. “My uncle is working today. He’s going to see you.” 

“So?” Sokka asks. 

“ _So,_ ” Zuko bites out, “he’s going to find out that I’m letting one of the Avatar’s little friends follow me around like I’m some type of fugitive.”

“Aren’t you, like, technically a fugitive anyway?” 

“Do you ever _shut up?”_ Zuko asks, pushing his way into the teashop. 

“Nope!” Sokka says, happily following him in. 

It’s already been three days, and Zuko’s considering just giving up and turning himself into the Earth Kingdom police. 

The watertribe boy is _constantly_ around and _never shuts up_. He’s like a persistent buzzing in his ears. 

Well, he’s around almost constantly, anyway. Sokka usually doesn’t show up until late afternoon--meaning he’s off doing who knows what for most of the day--but he reappears every day, late afternoon. 

Zuko knows it’s only been three days, but he wonders how long it’s going to take for Sokka to leave him alone. 

_Hopefully soon,_ he thinks, as he walks back into the shop, Sokka hot on his trail. 

Whatever. He has work, and he has to figure out what he’s going to tell his uncle about this whole...situation, and he has to think fast, because Uncle is about to turn around and see them both. 

“Ah, Lee! You’re back from the market already?” his uncle says, moving around and Zuko sets the tea on the counter. 

“Yeah,” he says, moving to the backroom to grab his apron. If he doesn’t acknowledge Sokka’s presence, maybe Uncle won’t either. Maybe he won’t even recognize the boy--

“Lee,” Uncle says, following him into the back. “It seems that we have an, ah, unexpected visitor in the shop today.” 

Zuko pauses. Then calmly ties his apron around, and goes to head back out. “I know,” he tells him.

For his part, Uncle looks surprised and Zuko feels a smile tug at his lips; it’s not often that he can surprise the old man. 

“You do?” he asks. 

“He came in the other day and now he won’t leave me alone,” Zuko grumbles. Uncle raises an eyebrow at him, clearly waiting for more explanation. 

Zuko huffs. “I told him our...situation, and he promised not to turn us in. But he wants to make sure we’re not...going to…” he waves his hand in a ‘you know’ gester. 

“Ah,” Uncle says, with a smile. “Well, that is very kind of him.”

Zuko scowls at that. Of course he would take Sokka’s side. 

“If he was kind, he’d leave me _alone_ ,” Zuko snaps before he stomps off to work. 

Sokka decides very quickly that he likes Zuko’s Uncle a _lot_ better. First, his tea is way better than Zuko’s, second, he thanked him for giving them a chance _and_ gave him the tea for free. 

_Score!_

But really, Sokka thinks as he sips his tea and watches Zuko and his uncle, it’s hard to believe the two are even related. 

His uncle is clearly trying to catch his nephew’s eye, but Zuko is steadily ignoring him as he sweeps the shop floor. Man, if firebenders could bend with their eyes, the floor of the shop would be in flames right now. The guy is either always angry or annoyed, and doesn’t look like he’s had a day of fun in his entire life. 

Leaning back in his chair, Sokka sips his ( _free!)_ tea and bites back a groan when he’s reminded that he has to stay here for another few _hours._ In his head, doing surveillance had sounded so cool, but really it’s more boring than anything. 

He’ll have to bring a scroll to read or something in the future. Maybe the local university has some good poetry scrolls. 

Three days turns into a week, which turns into two, and Zuko and Sokka find themselves falling into a routine of sorts. Their conversations are still stilted...but slowly improving. Honestly, he’s not sure how long he’s going to keep this up, but it’s nice, hanging out with someone his age. Even if that someone happens to be the Fire Lord’s son. 

Life is weird. 

They’re wandering around the market again and Zuko is getting groceries for his Uncle and him, and Sokka is, as usual, tagging along. But he’s curious as to what Zuko’s gathering ingredients for; he has an assortment of colorful spices in his basket. 

However, his confusion is quickly forgotten when he sees the most _beautiful_ jacket hanging in a clothing stall. It’s definitely an Earth Kingdom jacket. It’s forest green, with dark green trim around the collar, the ends of the sleeves, and bottom of the jacket; it’s tied together with golden stitches. 

“What are you doing?” Zuko asks him, pulling him out of his thoughts. 

“Just admiring the most beautiful jacket in the entire Earth Kingdom,” Sokka sighs. 

Zuko looks at the jacket and shrugs. “It’s fine.” 

“Fine? Just fine?” Sokka asks him, jestering towards the jacket. “Look at it! It’s got gold trim!” 

Zuko raises his eyebrow at him, looks at the jacket and then looks at Sokka again. “Why don’t you just buy it then?” 

Sokka sighs, defeated. “I don’t have my wallet with me,” he says, hunching over. 

Zuko rolls his eyes, but then Sokka gets an idea. “Hey! Maybe you could buy it for me, and then I could pay you back?” 

Zuko scoffs at Sokka. “What?” the Water Tribe teen asks. 

“I can’t afford that,” he says, turning to move on to the next stall. 

“Aren’t you like, royalty?” Sokka asks, before cringing, remembering what happened last time he referenced Zuko’s past. 

But to his surprise, Zuko just snorts. “Yeah, because obviously I still have access to that bankroll.” 

Sokka rubs the back of his neck. “Fair point,” he says and then, “Huh.” 

“What?” Zuko asks him, reaching for some fruit. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you joke before,” Sokka says, and Zuko gives him a withering look, but he’s also _blushing._

“Shut up.” 

Sokka doesn’t say anything, but he smirks and watches Zuko gather more things from the market. He seems so oddly...normal like this. It’s hard to imagine that this blushing teenager is the same one who tried to kidnap them all. Multiple times. 

“What are you even going to make with all those spices?” he asks. 

“I’m trying to get the ingredients to make a curry,” Zuko mutters, his one eyebrow furrowed as he scans another food stall. “But this stupid Earth Kingdom market doesn’t have all the right ingredients...” 

“You know, I’ve never had curry before,” Sokka wonders out loud, and for some reason Zuko blushes even more when he says that. 

He coughs awkwardly. “We’re having curry tomorrow night,” Zuko says. Then he grits his teeth and looks pained at what he’s about to say, “and Uncle wanted me to invite you.” 

Zuko avoids eye contact the entire time, and Sokka’s standing, mouth hanging open. 

“Why?” he asks, because he cannot imagine a reason why the _Dragon of the West_ and the _Fire Nation Prince_ would invite him to dinner. 

Zuko looks like he’d rather be anywhere else. “He wants to thank you...for not, you know…” he trails off. “Obviously, I’ll tell him you don’t want to--”

“What?” Sokka cuts him off. “I didn’t say that.” 

Zuko looks at him. “Really? You want to come?” 

Sokka shrugs. “Why not? If your uncle can cook as half as well as he can make tea, then it’ll be a good meal. And, like I said; I’ve never had curry before.” 

Zuko opens his mouth, then closes it in a manner very similar to a fish out of water. “Ok.” 

“Ok.” 

It had surprised Zuko when his Uncle had told him to invite Sokka to dinner, but well, Uncle did shit like that sometimes. He got over it. 

What he _was_ surprised at is the fact that the other teen had said _yes._ He could not fathom why the Sokka had accepted, but he _did_ so now he’s setting up three place settings while mentally cursing the universe for leading his life to this point. 

He’s just set down the last bowl and seating cushion when he hears a knock at their door. 

“Zuko,” Uncle calls from their small kitchen, “I believe your friend has arrived.”

“He’s not my friend,” Zuko snaps. 

“You should go let him inside. It would be rude to keep him waiting,” Uncle says, ignoring Zuko’s comment. 

Zuko huffs and rolls his eyes, but goes to the door anyway. 

On the other side stands Sokka, who looks about as awkward as Zuko feels. 

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

They stare at each other, until Zuko coughs and shuffles out of the way, silently signaling him to come inside. 

Sokka enters, and takes in the tiny apartment. It’s essentially two rooms; the main room doubles as a dining room and bedroom. During the day, Zuko and his uncle set out cushions and eat sitting on the floor and during the evening they roll out sleeping pads. Off of the mainroom is a tiny kitchen, just big enough for a pot to cook. 

“It’s...cozy!” Sokka says, and Zuko scowls. 

“It’s dirty and tiny, you mean.” 

“No, no, really! It’s...quaint,” Sokka finishes lamely. 

Their conversation is saved when Uncle enters the room with a pot of curry. “I am more inclined to agree with you, Sokka. I believe that living simply can be good for the soul and for the mind.” 

He sets the pot down, and motions for the two teenagers to do the same. “I want to thank you for joining us for dinner, and thank you again for protecting our identities.”

Sokka and Zuko both sit, and Zuko’s Uncle serves Sokka and then Zuko. 

Taking his bowl and sitting back, Sokka nods. “You’re, ah, welcome,” he says, looking like he doesn’t know what to say. Zuko feels some pleasure knowing that Sokka looks about as awkward as Zuko feels. 

Uncle starts eating, so Zuko picks up his spoon and does the same. With his first bite he feels a small pang in his stomach. This dish doesn’t compare to anything in the Fire Nation, but it’s close enough. The flavors are a little off, and it’s not quite as hot as he typically likes it, but the warm dish and its aromatic smell remind him of home.

 _Home._ To say it’s a complicated term for Zuko would be the understatement of the century. He caught himself referring to this apartment as home the other day and afterwards he had silently berated himself. The _palace_ was his home—the _Fire Nation_ was home—was where his people and family were. 

Whenever he thinks of his family, of the palace, he’s met with a mix of homesickness and anger. He’s angry that he’s not there right now; angry that his father casted him out and that he hasn’t been back in _three years._

For three years he’s imagined what it would be like to be welcomed back and to finally be accepted with his honor and his father’s love. In his mind, he imagines it with pride and relief, but recently, there’s been another emotion lingering around this scene when he thinks about it. It’s a sinking feeling, a pit at the bottom of his stomach; fear. 

When he imagines his father restoring his rightful place in the palace, amongst his imaginary pride and happiness, there’s a voice in the back of his mind whispering _how long until you misstep and he casts you out again?_

Zuko shakes his head, and forcefully stomps down those thoughts, choosing to instead focus on the scene in front of him. 

He looks at Sokka as the other teen gives his bowl a curious sniff. He then scoops a spoonful into his mouth, his eyes widen, and he starts eating with more vigore. 

His Uncle laughs. “It’s nice to finally have someone who appreciates my cooking.”

Sokka nods furiously, and says, “it’s so good,” with a mouthful, and then swallows and reaches for a glass of water. “But _hot.”_

Zuko smirks as he watches Sokka down his water, and then waves his hand in front of his tongue. Sokka catches him looking, and pulls a face. 

_“What?”_ He says, “It _is_ hot.”

Zuko snorts. “This is nothing. In the Fire Nation it’s usually twice as hot,” and he puts a big spoonful into his mouth, looking at Sokka’s horrified expression. 

“How would you even eat that?” He says, before taking another bite. 

“Happily,” Zuko says flatly and Sokka gives him a look.

“I don’t think I’ve ever _seen_ you laugh, let alone look happy,” Sokka says, and Zuko rolls his eyes. 

Uncle interjects with a fond smile saying, “When Zuko was younger, all you had to do to get him to smile was show him a turtleduck.”

“Uncle,” Zuko snaps, a dusting of pink settling across his cheeks.

Sokka looks delighted and he turns to Zuko, his eyebrows raised. “ _Turtleducks?”_

“Shut up,” Zuko says weakly, jabbing his spoon into his food. “They’re cute,” he says, blush rising. 

Sokka laughs. “Just surprising. I guess I have a hard time imagining you as a kid, you know?”

As he says that, Zuko can see Uncle smile, and he _knows_ the look in his eyes. 

“Uncle, do not—” he starts but he’s ignored. 

“Has Zuko ever told you about the time he smuggled a whole family of turtleducks into the palace?”

Zuko silently wishes he was an earthbender so he could create a hole to escape into. Sokka, to Zuko’s chagrin, looks over the moon. He leans in towards Uncle and shoots Zuko a smirk and tells him, “It hasn’t come up.”

His treacherous Uncle claps his hands together, and launches into the story. “My nephew was about nine years old…”

As Sokka heads back home, he’s honestly surprised at how well his night went. When he had agreed to dinner, he had been just as surprised as Zuko and had spent the day up until dinner anxious. Why had he agreed to dinner with Fire Nation _Royalty?_

In the end, however, he’s actually glad he went. His mouth is still tingling from dinner—it was _spicy_ but really fucking good. 

And he knows he keeps having this revelation over and over but, it was all so strangely mundane. Most of dinner was Iroh regaling Sokka with embarrassing stories about Zuko, while the teen himself sat blushing. 

The fire nation teen had come around (sort of) eventually, and would join in the conversation to correct his uncle on certain aspects as he told his stories. 

At one point, the teen had even _smiled_ , just for a moment, at one of Iroh’s stories. 

He had a really nice smile; it softened his normally hard face and made him look more his age. 

_He should smile more,_ Sokka thought idly, as he stretched an arm behind his back. 

He pauses the movement and stops walking for a moment at that thought. 

_Huh._

_That’s a weird thought to have,_ he thinks to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We love two oblivious dummies. Chapter two should be out within the next week! 
> 
> Also shout out to devin [(antineilgaiman)](http://antineilgaiman.tumblr.com) for reading this over for me. As always, their running commentary had me in stitches and included hits such as: 
> 
> all zuko in ba sing se knows is make tea go to market eat flameo hotchip and lie  
> And  
> zuko: “happily”  
> sokka, iroh, everyone in the world: u know that word? on tui? on la??
> 
> As always you can find me at [torsamors](http://torsamors.tumblr.com) on tumblr. Comment to save a life


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I actually really have to get to work,” Zuko says, moving away trying to put as much distance between him and Sokka as possible. “Please leave me alone.”
> 
> “Now, you might want to take some of this with a grain of salt, given that my first real relationship ended up with my girlfriend turning into the moon, so—”
> 
> Zuko resists the urge to put his head into his wet hands. “Why is every conversation with you so _weird?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two is here!! I want to give a HUGE thank you to all the wonderful feed back (comments/kudos) everyone left on chapter one. I’m really blown away and want to give my love to everyone, especially everyone who took the time to leave a comment. I might not reply to every single on, but I read each one and they all really make my day. Seriously, I love y’all.  
>    
> A little warning, Zuko talks abt his scar in this chapter and so there is discussion of canon child abuse.

Not that he’d admit it to _anyone,_ but Sokka is starting to look forward to his days with Zuko. He knows he should be more on guard around the Fire Nation prince, but honestly it’s getting harder and harder to do so—it’s much easier to just tease and joke around with the other teenager. 

It’s confusing. He thinks they’re starting to become friends. Maybe? He’s not sure. Sokka would _like_ to say that Zuko’s starting to trust him and vice versa but honestly, it’s all a little complicated. He tries not to think about it too much.

But, it is nice hanging out with Zuko and the other teenager is starting to relax around Sokka a bit more. Sokka’s coming to find that he’s more awkward than anything and that he _really_ doesn’t have many people skills. He does have a dry sense of humor, but that usually only comes out when he’s making a joke at Sokka’s expense. 

He supposes that he has enough evidence to leave Zuko alone now, but he doesn’t want to do that just yet. 

So, as he usually does, Sokka makes his way to the tea shop one evening (some scrolls in hand to keep the boredom at bay when he can’t talk with Zuko), but when he arrives he is surprised to find Zuko talking to two Earth Kingdom soldiers. 

Well, talking is a generous term. Zuko may be behind the counter, but he looks like a cornered catowl. Sokka can sense his nervousness from across the shop and he quickly makes his way over, hoping that Zuko and his Uncle haven’t been figured out. 

“I told you,” he hears Zuko snap, “I’m not interested.” 

The soldier on the right folds his arms, unconvinced by Zuko’s words. “I urge you to reconsider. I saw how well you fought with my dual swords; the Earth Kingdom army could use more people like you.” 

Sokka’s eyebrows go up at that. These soldiers aren’t trying to arrest Zuko, they’re trying...to _recruit_ him? Any other time Sokka would laugh at the irony, but as it is, it looks like Zuko is teetering on the edge of blowing up, and that would be good for no one. 

“Lee!” Sokka calls out, approaching the counter. “Are you almost done with these guys? I’m absolutely _dying_ for a cup of jasmine tea.” 

The Earth Kingdom soldiers turn and look at Sokka. “Do you know this young man?” the one who was talking to Zuko asks. 

“Yup!” Sokka says, going to lean on the counter, trying to play it cool. 

“Well then, wouldn’t you agree that your friend should step up and fulfill his duty to the Earth Kingdom? He’d make a fantastic recruit for the army.” 

“This guy? Are you sure?” Sokka asks, slapping his hand on Zuko’s shoulder. “Nah, he can’t join the army,” he says, trying to think of an excuse to give the soldier. 

The Earth Kingdom soldier narrows his eyes. “And why’s that?”

“Uh, because he’s, uh,” Sokka stammers, struggling to come up with a convincing lie. Luckily, he’s cut off by Zuko. 

“Because I’m blind in my left eye,” Zuko says. “I’m pretty sure that disqualifies me.” 

The other soldier speaks up at that. “But we saw you fight, and you didn’t seem to struggle.”

Zuko scowls at that. “Just because I’m blind in one eye, doesn’t mean I’m useless,” he says with a huff. “But it doesn’t matter. I know the rules, and the army doesn’t recruit blind people.” 

The soldiers look at each other, and the one on the right sighs. “Unfortunately, you’re right. That’s a real shame,” he tells Zuko. “I know rules are rules, but if you change your mind, I might be able to work out an exception for you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Zuko says dryly.

With that, the soldiers turn to leave and both boys let out a sigh of relief when they finally exit the building.

“Wow,” Sokka says, turning to Zuko, “Quick thinking! That was a good lie.” 

Zuko gives him an _‘are you an idiot’_ look, and partially turns to start sorting some tea located next to the counter. 

“It wasn’t a lie,” he tells Sokka. 

“What? You’re actually blind in one eye?” Sokka asks, trying to get a better look at the boy. 

_“Sokka,”_ Zuko says. “Seriously? You’ve seen my face, right?” 

Sokka winces at that. Fair enough. He supposes it’d be pretty impressive if Zuko could still see out of that eye after a burn that bad. 

“Was the other part true?” he asks the prince, changing the subject. “Do you know how to sword fight?”

Zuko continues to sort teas and answers him, not bothering to turn his head though. “Yeah. I’ve trained with dual swords since I was a kid,” he says, like it’s nothing. 

Sokka throws his hands up. “What? That’s awesome!” Zuko just raises his eyebrow at him. 

“Seriously,” Sokka says, sitting down at the table closest to the counter. “How’d they even find that out about you? Did they really see you fight someone here?” 

“We met this guy on the ferry over to Ba Sing Se, and he thought Uncle and I were firebenders. He came in and started yelling at Uncle, telling him to fight him and defend himself with firebending. It pissed me off, so I grabbed that soldier’s swords and fought him off,” Zuko says. 

“What happened after?” Sokka asks. 

“He was arrested, because he technically started the fight and had no proof. He was...weird. When we met on the boat ride over and we...got along fine, but he kept asking me to join his little group of friends,” Zuko says. “They were called the...liberty fighters or something like that.” 

“Wait, wait, wait,” Sokka says. “Do you mean the freedom fighters?” 

“Yeah,” Zuko says, nodding his head. “How did you know?” 

“Let me guess,” Sokka asks, “this guy who attacked you. He was tall, kind of douchey, weird eyebrows and always had a piece of grass in his mouth?” 

Zuko looks at Sokka and blinks. “You know Jet too?” 

“Tui and La,” Sokka says shaking his head. “It’s a small world.” 

Zuko snorts. “Tell me about it. How do you know him?” 

Sokka tells him about the time they met Jet, and how he tried to get rid of Sokka and betrayed Katara, and about his horrible plan for that village. When he finishes his story, Zuko shakes his head. 

“He seemed pretty intense when I met him but...” he trails off. 

Sokka shrugs. “Yeah, he was crazy. It’s a good thing you can fight without bending, huh?” Then Sokka thinks about that for a moment. “Hey, why do you know how to fight with swords?” He asks.

“What do you mean?” Zuko asks, looking confused. 

“Well, you know how to...bend,” Sokka says, dancing around the truth, given that they were in public, “and given your upbringing, it’s just odd that you learned a different fighting style.”

Zuko shrugs. “It is unusual, I guess. No one else in my family is trained outside of bending. But I was never a great bender,” he says. “My little sister was always—still is—I guess, a prodigy. I needed something to make up for my bending abilities.” 

“What are you talking about?” Sokka says, shaking his head. “You’re like, crazy good at bending.” 

Zuko rolls his eyes at that. “Yeah ok. How many times have I lost to you guys?” 

“To be fair,” he points out. “We do have the Avatar on our side.”

“You mean a twelve year old boy.”

“A twelve year old boy who has the ability to glow and harness all the elements and power of his past lives.” 

Zuko just rolls his eyes again, but the corner of his mouth quirks up. “Whatever. I have to work. Did you want tea?” 

“Yeah, Jasmine please but—oh wait!” he says reaching out towards Zuko. 

“What?” he says, exasperation dripping in his voice. 

“Will you teach me how to sword fight?” Sokka asks, using his best begging face. 

Zuko opens his mouth—probably to tell him no, but then he closes it, looks up and sighs. 

“Sure,” he tells him.

“Really?” Sokka asks, sitting up. That was easier than he thought, he had expected Zuko to tell him no, like he usually did. 

“Well, if I say no you’ll just pester me until I give in. This is easier,” he tells him.

Sokka grins at him. “Aw, you _know_ me so well,” he says sweetly, batting his eyes. Sokka knows shit like that annoys Zuko, but it’s so fun to rile him up, Sokka can’t resist annoying him.

He’s clearly successful, as he sees Zuko scowl. “I’m going to burn your tea,” he tells him. 

“Nah, you like me too much to do that,” Sokka says waving his hand, but Zuko’s already stomped off to make the drink

When his tea is delivered, it tastes perfect. 

Zuko watches Sokka fall on his butt for the third time that night. 

“Ouch,” Sokka says and then falls onto his back. “Why is this so _hard?”_

Zuko shakes his head at him, and offers him a hand up, which Sokka accepts. “Hey, you were the one who wanted to learn how to sword fight. I never said it’d be easy.”

“Yeah, but still,” Sokka says, standing up with Zuko’s help. “When you do it, it looks effortless.” 

Zuko rolls his eyes at the compliment. “That’s because I’ve been training since I was a kid. Here,” he says, holding both of his swords out. “You have to stop thinking about them like they’re two separate things—they’re not. They’re two parts of the same whole.” 

Zuko swings the swords around himself and feels a twist in his stomach at the familiarity of his speech. Whenever he recalls his time in Li’s village, he feels a strange twist of both shame and pride. He doesn’t regret fighting those bastards who called themselves soldiers, but he knows he could have handled the situation better towards the end. 

He doesn’t like to think about the time he spent wandering the Earth Kingdom countryside. But what happened with Li is hard to forget. That, and the memory of Song’s leg is forever burned into his mind. Zuko always feels pools of guilt settle into his stomach whenever he remembers how repaid her kindness to him and Uncle. 

Swinging the swords back in front, he holds them out to Sokka. “But remember, they’re an extension of you too. Don’t think of them just as two weapons—think of them as an extension of yourself.”

Sokka takes the swords and looks thoughtful, thinking over Zuko’s advice. “You know,” he tells him, “you kind of sound like your Uncle when you talk like that.”

Zuko bites back a groan. “Don’t say things like that,” he tells Sokka

Sokka just chuckles. “Hey man, I meant it as a compliment,” he says, getting into the stance that Zuko showed him earlier. 

“Whatever,” Zuko says, rolling his eyes. “Go again.”

And they practice like that for a while. Zuko going over the basics as he remembers them and correcting Sokka when he needs it. For all his complaining, Sokka actually isn’t half bad, Zuko realizes pretty quickly. He’ll definitely need more than just one night of training, but he clearly has some natural talent for sword fighting. 

Zuko tells him this, when they decide to wrap up for the night. 

“You think so?” Sokka asks him, looking hopefully at Zuko. 

“I mean...yeah,” Zuko says awkwardly. “It’s—you don’t fight like most trained warriors, but it’s because you’re always coming at it from a different angle. Which is a good thing,” he quickly amends at the look Sokka sends him. 

“But…” Zuko says trailing off, looking at his swords, thinking. 

“But?” 

“I think this isn’t quite right for you,” he tells Sokka and rolls his eyes when the boy deflates. “I just mean I think you’d be better with one sword instead of two; dual swords aren’t for everyone.”

Sokka considers Zuko’s comment then shrugs. “I honestly wouldn’t know,” he says truthfully. “But dual swords definitely look cooler.”

Zuko snorts; of course Sokka would think that. “Well, we can still work with the dual swords, but you should try getting your hands on a single sword.”

“I can’t wait to eventually kick your ass,” Sokka says, smiling at Zuko, and the firebender to fight the urge to smile back. 

“Ok, sure,” Zuko tells him. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.” He turns around to put his swords away so Sokka can’t see him laugh at his sputtering reply to Zuko’s remark.

In all honesty, Zuko’s actually looking forward to their next lesson. He had…enjoyed sparring with Sokka and teaching him the basics. It was a nice outlet for him; he can’t exactly practice his firebending here beyond his morning meditations and it’s hard to find an excuse to use his swords. 

Plus, he’s coming to begrudgingly realize he's been looking forward to Sokka’s visits. Sokka is so easy going and kind, which is something Zuko doesn’t have much experience with. The exception to that, of course, is with Uncle. But his Uncle is just that—his Uncle. Not a friend. 

Friend. _Is that what Sokka is?_ He wonders to himself later that night while in bed, long after the two had parted for the night. Sokka is so different from anyone he’s known. Growing up, Zuko hadn’t really had his own friends—Mai and Ty Lee were always Azula’s friends first—and after his banishment he hadn’t had the time nor opportunity to be around people his age. 

Is Sokka his first real friend? Honestly—and he’s embarrassed to admit this—he’s not sure he knows how to tell. There’s a part of him that actually _wants_ Sokka to be his friend, but there’s a larger, more realistic part that shuts that idea down. _Of course_ they’re not _friends._ How could Sokka consider him anything other than the enemy? He chased him and his friends around the world—tried to capture them countless times. Not to mention the fact that _his_ family is directly responsible for most of the pain and suffering that the Water Tribe has experienced. 

Zuko aggressively pulls his covers up and over his shoulder, and faces the wall of his dark apartment. 

_Stupid._ It’s foolish for him to even entertain the idea. They’re _not_ friends. Sokka’s still around to keep an eye on him, that’s all.

They’re at the tea shop again, like usual, and Sokka’s currently playing his new favorite game.

It’s his ‘how quickly can he rile up Zuko’ game. It’s surprisingly easy, but Sokka thinks he’s probably the best player. 

Zuko’s currently washing dishes, but Sokka’s not letting that stop him. He’s standing near the counter and pestering the other boy with questions. 

“Are you _absolutely sure_ you don’t have _any_ desserts?” Sokka asks. 

“I just told you we _don’t,”_ Zuko says, angrily scrubbing a dish. 

“Maybe you have some stuff in the back?” Sokka asks innocently.

The firebender slowly lowers the cup he’s washing back into the sink, closes his eyes and takes a deep breath—it looks like he’s trying his best not to snap at Sokka. 

“Like I said,” Zuko says, eyes still closed, “we only serve _tea_ because this is a _tea shop.”_

Sokka doesn’t say anything for a moment, waiting until Zuko opens his eyes and starts washing the cup before saying anything else. “Ok,” Sokka says, “but are you, like, totally _one hundred_ percent sure—”

 _“Spirits_ Sokka!” Zuko says, aggressively throwing the cup he’s still washing into the water in front of him. “Can you hear or are you just stupid?” 

Sokka can’t take it anymore, he starts snickering at Zuko. His amusement makes Zuko pause for a moment. 

“You’re fucking with me, aren’t you?” Zuko asks him. 

“You’re finally catching on!” Sokka says, wiping his eyes. 

“You’re unbelievable,” the firebender mutters, turning back to the sink. 

“So,” Sokka says, changing the topic and leaning over the counter to get closer to Zuko. “We gonna do some swordbending later?” He makes some chopping motions with his arms as emphasis. 

Zuko tries to bite back a groan. “I’m never letting you near my swords again if you keep calling it swordbending,” he tells Sokka, who just rolls his eyes. “But, um. No we can’t tonight. I’m busy,” he says, avoiding eye contact. 

Sokka raises his eyebrows at that. “What? You’re never busy,” he tells Zuko. “What are you doing?” 

Zuko feels his face heat up, and mutters his answer under his breath, too low for Sokka to hear.

“What was that?” Sokka asks, leaning forward again, and Zuko wants to just disappear. 

“I said I have a date,” he says miserably, and he wishes he wouldn’t get yelled at by his boss for shoving Sokka at the look he’s giving him.

“A _date?”_ He says, a smile rising on his face.

“Shut _up,”_ Zuko says, blushing harder. “I—yes. A date.”

“You?” Sokka says, pointing at Zuko.

“Yes!” Zuko snaps, furiously cleaning the cup in his hands. “What, is that so hard to believe?”

“No! No, a dude like you? Of course you’d have girls chasing you,” Sokka backtracks, and Zuko does _not_ know what to do with that, but luckily Sokka keeps talking so he doesn’t have to. “Just caught me off guard I guess,” and then he laughs. “I’m sure you got tons of dates back home.”

Zuko _stanchily_ ignores him and Sokka stops laughing. 

“You have—you _have_ gone on a date before, right?” Sokka asks him.

And Zuko feels a little indignante at that, because he’s not a _child._ It’s not like he’s never kissed anyone but...he’s never really had the time to date anyone before. 

Embarrassment floods Zuko’s system, and he scrubs even harder at the already perfectly clean tea cup. “I...left home at thirteen, and didn’t have, ah, time to date after that.” 

Sokka blinks at him for a moment, and takes him in, before shaking his head and smiling. He reaches over and grabs Zuko’s arm. 

“Well, luckily for _you,_ you’re currently in the presence of someone who's a bit of a dating expert, if I do say so myself,” Sokka says, closing his eyes proudly and placing his other hand on his chest.

“Oh my _god.”_

“Now, if you want any kissing advice—”

“I’ve—I’ve _kissed_ people before,” Zuko says, yanking his arm back.

Sokka gives him a funny look, but presses on after a quick moment. “Right. Right, of course you have. But do you know _anything_ about date etiquette?”

“I actually really have to get to work,” Zuko says, moving away trying to put as much distance between him and Sokka as possible. “Please leave me alone.”

“Now, you might want to take some of this with a grain of salt, given that my first real relationship ended up with my girlfriend turning into the moon, so—”

Zuko resists the urge to put his head into his wet hands. “Why is every conversation with you so _weird?”_

Zuko’s date with Jin does not go well, to say the least. He knows he was crushingly awkward the entire time and downright rude at some points. But despite it all, Jin was patient and kind with him the entire time, which he didn’t deserve. 

At the end of the night, he had taken a stupid, _stupid_ risk by firebendering the laterns for Jin. But, it had felt worth it, seeing her smile afterwards. 

And then...she had kissed him. And _then,_ he ran away. 

It hadn’t been a bad kiss, but it had felt...off; something hadn’t quite clicked for him. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but he could have handled it better—could have ended the night with Jin better. But he hadn’t. 

So, he’s more than surprised to see Jin in the tea shop the next day, cashing in on her free tea coupon. His uncle nudges him, giving him a wink when he spots Jin, but Zuko just feels dread pooling in his stomach. 

He avoids her for as long as he can, but when his shift ends, he swallows his pride and makes his way over to the girl. 

She surprises him again by smiling softly at him. She stands, and jerks her head towards the door, “Walk with me?” She asks. 

Not knowing what else to do, he nods and follows. He sees Uncle give him a big thumbs up on the way out and resists the urge to frown at him. 

Once outside, they walk in silence for a minute or two before they both try to speak. 

“Listen, I want to apologize for—”

“I’m sorry for leading—”

“Wait,” Jin says, holding a hand up. “I think there’s been some miscommunication. Why are you apologizing?”

Zuko just stares at her for a moment. “Because I ruined our date and I...ran away after we kissed?”

She laughs at him, though not unkindly. “I came to apologize for kissing _you.”_

“I—what?”

Jin leads him to a nearby bench, and they sit together. “I got the feeling you weren’t too into the date,” she tells him, “and then we still kissed and...well, they _do_ say you shouldn’t kiss on the first date. I guess I kind of broke that rule.” She laughs awkwardly at that. 

“It’s not your fault. I did kiss you back, even if I did run away after,” Zuko says lamely, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I like you like that. I’m not sure I like any girl like that. I shouldn’t have led you.”

Jin cocks her head at him. “Lee,” she says, “I’m not mad.”

“You’re not?” Zuko asks, confused. 

She chuckles. “Am I a little disappointed that the cute tea shop boy has a crush on someone else? Yes,” she says. “Am I mad about that? No.”

“A crush on some else?” Zuko asks dumbly. He hadn’t said anything about a _crush._

Now it’s Jin’s turn to look confused. “The Water Tribe boy?” She asks him. 

Zuko sputters. “I do not—I _don’t_ have a crush on him.”

“Are you sure about that?” Jin asks him, a teasing smile playing on her lips. 

Zuko opens his mouth to argue, but nothing comes out. He realizes he doesn’t _have_ an argument. He thinks about the fact that he looks forward to seeing Sokka everyday—that the best _part_ of his days now are the parts he spends with Sokka. He thinks about the fact that Sokka can make him blush so easily. He thinks about Sokka’s big, brilliant smile that is so often, against all odds, shined in Zuko’s direction. 

Oh no. 

“Oh—I didn’t realize—I thought you knew,” Jin starts, trying to stifle her giggles when he buries his head in his hands. 

“I can’t believe this,” he says. 

Jin pats his back. “We’ve all been there, crushing on a friend is hard.”

Zuko sits up and groans, leaning his head back on the bench behind him.“I don’t know if we’re even friends.” 

“But he’s around _all_ the time,” Jin says, confused. “He’s always teasing you and hanging around.”

“It’s...complicated,” Zuko says, grimacing. 

Jin shrugs. “He seems to enjoy your company. Doesn’t seem that complicated to me.”

Zuko doesn’t know how to even begin to explain the situation between him and Sokka, so he just shrugs too and says, “I guess.”

Jin hmms and sits back. “Anyway, despite all the bumps in the road, I _did_ enjoy some parts of our date. And I think you’re pretty funny and fun to be around. Maybe we can start over. Friends?” She asks, holding her hand out.

The statement surprises him, giving Zuko a pause. But, he eventually takes Jin’s hand in his, and a shy smile plays on his lips. “...Friends,” he says, shaking their hands. 

Sokka’s starting to notice a change is Zuko’s behavior. Ever since his date he seems...a little looser—happier even. When Sokka had asked how the date had gone, Zuko had simply shrugged and said fine, but as far as Sokka can tell, there’s been no more dates since. 

Which is just _fine_ with him, because that means he and Zuko can spar more often after his shifts are over. 

Though, tonight, Sokka’s doing more complaining than sparring.

“It’s just,” Sokka says, as he swings up the sword he’s holding to meet Zuko’s, “sometimes she can be so naggy.”

“Hmm,” Zuko says, before breaking away, and coming at Sokka from a different direction. “Pay attention, Sokka,” he tells him.

Sokka meets his attack again, but shakes his head. “Come on! You understand what it’s like to have a little sister,” he says and Zuko rolls his eyes. 

“I think our sibling experiences are very different,” he tells him dryly. 

Sokka jerks out of their stalemate and swings at Zuko’s right side. “Ok, maybe you’re a little right about that—” Zuko scoffs “—but both our little sisters are like, crazy powerful, so there are _some_ similarities.”

Zuko brings his sword up to meet Sokka’s lunge. Sokka realizes he needs to move his arm out of the way just a second too late and he feels pain bloom along his lower right arm. 

“Ouch, _shit,”_ Sokka says, dropping his weapon and clutching his arm. 

Zuko immediately pauses and his eyes widen. “Oh—shit. Sokka, I’m sorry—”

Sokka waves him off—it’s not a deep cut by any means. “It’s fine dude, I wasn’t paying attention. My fault.”

Zuko looks at Sokka, then looks at the arm he’s holding and can see blood. “Right just—I have some bandages up in our apartment. I’ll just—wait here. I’ll go get them.” 

Zuko runs inside and returns quickly, a roll of bandages in hand. He sits Sokka down on the ground and carefully grabs his injured arm. Slowly and methodically, he wraps the bandages around the cut. Sokka watched him work with curiosity; Zuko is constantly surprising him, it seems. He hasn’t looked up at Sokka yet, but he’s so gentle as he takes care of his wound. Once Zuko’s finished wrapping the cut, he ties the ends together just tight enough to keep everything in place, but not too tight that it’s uncomfortable. 

“There,” Zuko says, sitting back. “It wasn’t deep enough to scar, but it’ll probably sting for a while.” He coughs, and looks away. “Sorry again for, you know…”

Sokka stretches his arm out in front of himself and flexes his hand a few times. “Nah, don’t worry about it. It was bound to happen sooner or later—training accidents always happen.” 

Zuko looks back at him, his head cocked to the side. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he says, a soft smile playing on his lips. “Good thing it wasn’t anything more serious. I know my sister’s crazy, but I think your sister would hunt me down if she ever found out I seriously hurt you.”

Sokka laughs at that. “Oh man, would she ever,” he says. 

He looks at Zuko, who seems to have relaxed now that he’s reassured that Sokk’s alright. Sokka finds his eyes traveling over Zuko’s face, and he lingers on the left side. 

“Is that how it happened?” He asks, before he can shut himself up. 

“What?”

“Your scar,” Sokka continues, despite his better judgement. “Was it a training accident?”

Zuko’s face quickly shuts down and goes stony; all of the previous openness and relaxation is now gone. 

Sokka mentally kicks himself and his big mouth. “Sorry,” he backtracks, “I shouldn’t have asked that.”

Zuko levels him with a look. “Yeah,” he says, standing up, “you shouldn’t have.” 

He moves to collect his swords and Sokka moves after him.

“I didn’t mean to—”

“I’m going to bed,” he tells Sokka, not bothering to look at him. “Go home.”

Sokka, not knowing what to do, watches Zuko move towards his apartment, leaving him alone outside and feeling like the biggest asshole in Ba Sing Se. 

Sokka waits a few days before going back to the tea shop; he thinks he should give Zuko some space before he properly apologizes. 

He’s heading back tonight, though, and he’s nervous. Sokka really hadn’t meant to offend Zuko, but unfortunately he was blessed with chronic foot-in-mouth disease, and his display two nights ago was truly something spectacular, even for him. 

That night, Sokka had gone home mentally cursing himself for his big mouth. He had been so caught up in his thoughts that he had forgotten all about the cut on his arm. When Sokka had arrived back at their house in the Upper Ring, Katara had immediately questioned him about the bandages around his arm, worried that Sokka had gotten hurt in a fight. He had muttered off a half-hearted lie about falling on some glass in response. Although she hadn’t looked entirely convinced, she had dropped it after Sokka agreed to let her heal the wound. 

He would have to be more careful about his lies in the future, but right now he was focused on apologizing to Zuko. 

Opening the door to the tea shop, Sokka immediately sees Zuko taking a customer's order, and by the looks of it, he’s dealing with a real piece of work. 

Sokka chuckles at the exasperated expression Zuko gives the customer. However, he then looks towards the door and makes eye contact with Sokka. As he does, Sokka feels the smile slide right off of his face. 

Zuko looks shocked to see him, but he quickly gathers himself and pointedly turns around his back to Sokka as he continues to work. 

Sokka, never one to give up easily, sits down at a table tucked away in the corner of the shop, and waits. 

After about fifteen minutes, Zuko approaches him with a cup of tea. He silently puts it on the table and without looking at Sokka he says, “I’m done in an hour,” before he’s off again, tending to other tables. 

It’s one of the longest hours of Sokka’s life, but finally Zuko approaches Sokka again, his work apron notably absent, and they make their way outside. 

It’s dark and there’s a chill in the air. They walk a few feet and Sokka takes a deep breath, preparing to apologize, but Zuko cuts him off before he has the chance. 

“Follow me,” he says and Zuko leads him down a street that Sokka’s not familiar with.

“Where are we going?” Sokka asks, but Zuko just keeps walking. 

“Just follow me,” he repeats. 

They make their way through a series of streets that get more and more quiet. It seems like they’re approaching a part of Ba Sing Se that’s mostly abandoned. 

After a while, Zuko finally stops in front of a dark alley and before Sokka can again ask just where they are, Zuko takes off at a sprint down the alleyway. Sokka stares, then follows behind him, trying to catch up. 

He watches as Zuko reaches the end of the alley. Then, the firebender jumps on some old crates that are stacked in the back and uses that momentum to grab the bottom of an old windowsill to pull himself up. Once he has his feet firmly on the windowsill, he reaches up and pulls himself onto the roof. 

Sokka just stares upwards, panting. Zuko pops his head over the roof and looks down, squinting at Sokka.

“You coming?” He asks. 

“Oh yeah, sure!” Sokka says, still catching his breath. “I’ll just...do the same ninja shit you just did.”

Zuko rolls his eyes and gracefully lowers himself back down onto the windowsill. 

“Here,” he says, reaching a hand down. “Climb up on those crates and I’ll give you a hand up.”

After struggling more than he’d care to admit, Sokka makes his way up to the roof as, Zuko helping him along the way. 

Once they’re both up there, Zuko sits next to Sokka, the left side of his face hidden in his profile. 

“So,” Sokka says awkwardly. “What is this place?”

Zuko draws up his knees and sets his head down, looking upwards at the sky. “I come here sometimes when I need to think,” he says. “It’s quiet and you can see the stars really well.”

Sokka leans back on his hands and looks up too. Zuko’s right; the stars are much brighter in this part of the city. They still don’t compare to the sky back at the south Pole; the stars there are brighter than anywhere else, and the nights are often lit by dancing lights in the sky during winter. However, this sky is still beautiful. 

“Listen,” Sokka says, “I want to say I’m sorry for the other night.”

Zuko looks at him out of the corner of his eye, but then looks back up. “You don’t have to,” he says. “I know everyone wonders about it.”

“No,” Sokka says. “It was rude of me to just ask like that and it’s really none of my business. I’m sorry.”

There’s a beat of silence before Zuko says, “Okay.” 

Zuko then shifts his head to look at Sokka. “Do you still want to know?” He asks him. 

Yeah he still wants to know—Sokka’s an insanely curious person by nature. But he also doesn’t want Zuko telling him if he doesn’t feel comfortable or because he feels like he should. 

“Only if you want to,” Sokka tells him truthfully. 

Zuko looks away from Sokka, and starts picking at a frayed part of his robes. “I want to,” he says and then he takes a deep breath. “I honestly thought you knew already. It’s not a secret in the Fire Nation and I came across a small Earth Kingdom village where people knew.”

“Well, we are pretty cut off from the world down in the south Pole,” Sokka says. Then, “I’m guessing it wasn’t just a training accident, huh?” 

“No,” Zuko says. “It was my father.”

Sokka inhales sharply. _“What?”_

Zuko still isn’t looking at him, but he sighs. “I spoke out of turn when I shouldn’t have, in front of people I shouldn’t have. I disrespected him and he decided to teach me a lesson.” 

Sokka can’t wrap his head around that; he almost feels sick. “You just—you just spoke out of turn?” 

Zuko leans his head forward. “It was in a war meeting. One general had a plan—a terrible plan—and I spoke out against it. I spoke out in my father’s war room and then I refused to fight him in a duel meant to teach me respect. As punishment my father burned and banished me.”

“That’s...that’s it?” Sokka asks, in disbelief. 

“That’s it,” Zuko replies. 

Sokka has always hated the Fire Nation. He’s always hated them and what they stood for; he’s hated them every day for taking his mother and his childhood away. _Nothing_ will ever eclipse the anger and grief he felt towards the death of his mother. No matter how much he may hide it—unlike his sister—losing his mother had left a hole in his heart that he's not sure will ever be filled. Sokka is angry almost every day at the Fire Nation and angry at the man who killed his mother. Normally he doesn’t let himself dwell on his anger—he can’t really—or else it’d be unbearable. 

But in this moment he feels an intense, laser focused hatred at the Fire Lord himself. He tries to imagine what his father would do to him if he spoke out against him and he can’t _imagine_ his dad even raising a hand to him. Sokka hates even _more_ how _casually_ Zuko is talking about this—like it’s all matter-of-fact. Like he some how _deserved_ what happened to him. 

Then Sokka recalls something that Zuko said to him in the shop awhile ago.

_I...left home at thirteen._

Thirteen. A year younger than Katara. 

“Zuko,” Sokka says, his mouth feeling as though it’s filled with cobwebs. “Why were you hunting Aang?”

Zuko makes a noise that’s something between a scoff and a laugh. “I can’t come back home if I don’t have the Avatar. Those were the rules of my banishment.” 

“But,” Sokka says, “Aang didn’t come back until a few months ago.”

“Yeah,” Zuko says, once again picking at his sleeve. “I don’t….” he starts but stops himself, and he looks like he’s struggling with whatever he’s about to say. 

“You don’t?” Sokka asks. 

“I don’t know...I’m not sure...he wanted...I’m not sure he wants me to succeed,” Zuko says, as if that isn’t the most heartbreaking shit Sokka’s heard. 

“But you still wanted to go back to him? After all that?” Sokka says.

Zuko shrugs. “He’s my father,” is all he offers and Sokka doesn’t understand fully—he doesn’t think he ever will—but he thinks he understands what Zuko is trying to say. 

They sit again for a moment. 

“Do you,” Sokka starts, but he’s unsure if he wants to finish the question. He decides to anyway. “Do you still _want_ to go back?”

Zuko wraps his arms around his knees, and Sokka can see his grip is so tight that his knuckles are white. 

“I don’t know. Yes. No. It’s,” he takes a deep breath. “It’s complicated. I think a part of me will always want to go home, will always want my father’s acceptance.”

“I think I hear a but coming?” Sokka says lightly. 

Zuko’s lips quirk for just a moment at that. _“But,_ I saw so much while I was traveling in the Earth Kingdom. I saw so much before I arrived in Ba Sing Se...there are so many people who are terrified of our nation— _my_ nation...and rightfully so.” he trails off again, looking unsure. 

Zuko’s quiet for a moment before he continues. “And...I’m starting to think that even if I _did_ go back, it would never be the same. My family was happy, once, a long time ago, but I think I might just be chasing memories at this point.”

Looking at Zuko’s face, Sokka thinks he’s just as surprised to hear this as Zuko is; the firebender looks like he hadn’t meant to say that last part out loud. 

Neither of them speak and Zuko leans back on the roof, laying flat, his face pointed up at the sky. Sokka follows suit, laying next to him. 

They stay like that, shoulder to shoulder, surrounded by the quiet sounds of the city in the distance. 

“I’m glad you’re here,” Sokka finally says softly. And he’s surprised at just how much he means it when he says that. 

“Why?” Zuko asks. 

“Because we’re friends, dude,” Sokka says, bumping his shoulder. 

“We are?”

“Of course we are!” Sokka reassures him. “I care about you. I’m glad you’re here in Ba Sing Se with me.”

Zuko smiles softly and both boys look back at the sky, which is alive with lights. 

“Yeah. I’m glad I’m here with you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zuko: ive kissed ppl before  
> Sokka, his brain short circuiting thinking about zuko kissing someone: oh. um. of course you have. right. anyway—
> 
> Took these boys 10K words to admit they’re friends....I hope you all enjoyed chapter two! I have about 3K words done for chapter three, but there will probably be a longer break before the next update. I go back to working two jobs this week and there’s usually 3-4 days each week where I work 15-16 hour days so...yeah haha.
> 
> Another note: I plan on basically following this fic through season two. The time line’s a little longer than in canon but it’s my fic and my au so I do what I want with it lol. But yeah, this’ll end where season two ended. Chapter three will pick up a little more plot-wise and romance-wise, so I hope this chapter wasn’t too boring.
> 
> Also I adore Jin [marge voice] I just think she’s neat. so she will be making a come back, especially bc I think Zuko deserves to have more friends who tease him mercilessly.
> 
> As always, I’m on tumblr at torsamors and always, comment to save my sanity.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I said I’m fine. I can take care of myself,” he snaps. “You don’t need to help me.” 
> 
> Sokka pauses and just looks at Zuko for a moment. Then he clucks his tongue and shakes his head. 
> 
> “No,” Sokka tells him. 
> 
> “No?” Zuko says, staring at him, clearly confused at Sokka’s reaction. 
> 
> Sokka gives him a wide grin. “No.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter!! Thank you all soooo much for the wonderful comments. They mean the world to me and really help encourage me. 
> 
> Also peep the dead poets society reference.

When Jin had first extended a hand in friendship to Zuko (quite literally), he had been doubtful that any true bond would build between the two of them. However, he is pleasantly and quickly surprised to find that he’s wrong; Jin, for whatever reason, likes his company, and he enjoys hers. So she sticks around. 

Jin is easy to be around. She doesn’t have any expectations for Zuko, she’s patient and kind with him. It’s more than he deserves, he thinks, but he lets himself enjoy their time together. 

His friendship with Jin is different from the one he has with Sokka—it isn’t complicated by his past. With her, he’s just Lee the tea shop waiter. He’s just an Earth Kingdom refugee, like so many others in the lower ring of Ba Sing Se. 

Their conversations are always easy going and mundane as well, which is different, though refreshing. Jin usually does most of the talking, but they exchange stories about horrible the customers they get at their jobs and Jin always has a sympathetic ear for Zuko whenever he feels like complaining about Uncle being vague and weird. She’s also helped Zuko out of more than one awkward situation concerning a flirty customer by pretending to be his girlfriend, which he appreciates. 

Zuko has also discovered that Jin was a morning person, like himself, and so she often took morning walks with him before both of their work days started. They’re doing just that one morning when Jin points to a teenaged Earth Kingdom boy who’s busy setting up a market stall. 

“What do you think of him?” She asks. “His name is also Lee, and he always gives me the biggest mangos when I buy them.”

Jin also _loves_ talking about boys with Zuko. Sometimes when they're together, she’ll ask for his opinion on certain guys she sees. 

Zuko looks at the boy and shrugs. “He’s alright.”

Jin rolls her eyes at him but smiles anyway. “You say that about all the boys I point out,” she says and reaches over to take Zuko’s arm in her’s. If it was anyone else, Zuko would protest at the sudden contact, but with Jin, it’s nice—it’s affection without strings or thought. 

“That’s because they’re nothing special,” Zuko says dryly. 

Jin laughs at his unamusement. “You only think that because you only have eyes for that Water Tribe boy,” she teases, with a knowing look. 

Despite himself, Zuko blushes. “Shut up,” Zuko says, looking away from Jin. 

“Have you made any progress with him?” Jin asks, pulling Zuko towards a street to their right. 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Zuko grumbles. 

“Oh, come on! That’s no fun,” Jin all but pouts. 

“It’s pointless,” Zuko huffs out. “He doesn’t feel that way about me.”

Jin cocks her head and gives him a look. “Are you certain about that?” She asks. “How can you know for sure?”

“I’m pretty sure he’s not lining up to date a tea shop worker who has a scar covering half his face,” Zuko says dryly. _And who’s the Fire Lord’s son. And who chased him around the world. And who stole his sister’s necklace. And who until very recently was his enemy,_ he silently thinks. 

Agni, he was kind of an asshole wasn’t he?

Jin stops walking and pulls Zuko back with her. She turns him towards her and puts her hands on his shoulders. 

“Lee,” she says. “You shouldn’t talk about yourself like that. He’d be _lucky_ to have you! You’re a catch,” she says. 

He rolls his eyes—he’s pretty sure the only people who think that are Jin and Uncle. Jin carries on, however. 

“I’m serious, Lee. I think you should at least test the waters with him before you write the possibility off completely,” she says. “He makes you happy, and you deserve to be happy.”

At her last words, Zuko’s throat feels funny; no one’s ever told him that before. He coughs once to clear it, and looks off to the side, turning his head away from Jin. 

“Thanks,” he says, and then sneaks a glance back at Jin, who’s smiling softly at him. 

“Now, did I tell you about the jerk who tried to get a free meal out of me during my shift yesterday?”

Zuko feels a small smile tug at his mouth as he feels Jin gearing up for one of her intense customer rants.

“No, you didn’t.”

“So, this guy comes in really close to closing and…”

* * *

Jin’s advice doesn’t leave Zuko’s head. He firmly believes that Jin’s _wrong,_ of course. It had taken him a while to realize that he and Sokka were friends but there’s _no way_ that Sokka would feel like _that_ towards him. 

But regardless, Jin’s voice stays in his head for the rest of the day, bouncing around. He thinks about it during his shift and he thinks about it while he and Sokka are sparring, later that night. 

Sokka’s come a long way in such a short period of time and Zuko’s seriously impressed. Normally, he would be frustrated or jealous watching someone else quickly work through forms and skills that he spent years practicing and honing—but with Sokka he feels none of that. Zuko’s just genuinely impressed, and he wonders if Sokka realizes how much talent and potential he has. 

Regardless, Zuko hopes that Sokka can train under a real master someday—if he’s able to do that, there’s no telling how much Sokka could improve. 

They work through the basics that Zuko’s been drilling Sokka with and then sparr, but soon they both grow hot and tired. 

“Alright,” Zuko says, stepping back and lowering his sword. “I think that’s enough today.”

“Yeah man,” Sokka says, wiping his forehead. “I’m beat.” 

They start putting their things away and Zuko knows that Sokka will probably move to leave soon and he hears Jin’s voice in his head again. 

_Test the waters!_

“Do you want to come up and have some tea before you leave?” Zuko blurts out before he can stop himself. 

Sokka, who had been turned away from him, moves to face Zuko. “What was that?”

“I, uh, was wondering if you wanted some tea?” Zuko says a little helplessly. “Uncle is still at work and I know mine’s not as good but I figured it’d be a nice way to relax after sparring and…” he trails off. 

Luckily for him, Sokka doesn’t seem to notice his blundering. He claps a hand on Zuko’s shoulder and smiles at him. “Sounds great, dude! Free tea is free tea.” 

“Cool,” Zuko says lamely, but he pushes onwards. 

Zuko grabs his swords and they make their way up to his apartment. As they make their way up the stairs, he idly wonders what Sokka’s been telling the rest of his gang. He knows they don’t know about him, but he wonders what excuses Sokka’s come up with to explain away his evenings in the Lower Ring. For all the time they’ve spent together, they haven’t really talked about the bigger implications of their friendship; they’ve very much avoided talking about Zuko meeting the rest of the group and how that would pan out. 

Zuko doesn’t mind too much. He knows it would complicate things between them and honestly, his life is complicated enough as it is. He also isn’t sure he would want to meet the Avatar. While he’s no longer actively hunting him or chasing a way to go back home—he isn’t sure if he’s ready to meet or be _friends_ with the Avatar. 

It’s better, he thinks as he unlocks his apartment and brings Sokka inside, that he and Sokka keep their friendship a secret. It’s something that he really treasures, even if he wouldn’t say so out loud, and he doesn’t want to risk this fragile thing that’s grown between them.

* * *

Sokka enters Zuko’s apartment and notices that it looks a lot more home-y since his last visit; there’s a vase of flowers sitting near the window (almost certainly something Iroh picked up) but there’s also a set of candles in the corner that he thinks are for meditation--Zuko had mentioned that he gets up early every day to meditate with candles and that it’s the only time he can really firebender while in Ba Sing Se. There’s little touches here and there that he can identify as Zuko’s and Iroh’s. It suits the place nicely. 

“I’ll go start the tea,” Zuko says, turning towards the kitchen after setting his swords down in a corner. 

Sokka nods, and sits down. He’d been a little surprised when Zuko invited him up to the apartment, but pleasantly so; he’s always down for some free tea and he enjoys hanging around Zuko. Though he is a little disappointed Iroh isn’t home—the man always has the best stories about baby Zuko. 

He’s going to have to think of a good excuse to tell Katara about why he’s out so late, though. It’s getting harder and harder to dance around where he is every night, and he thinks his sister is starting to get seriously suspicious—or at the very least annoyed. But well, it’s worth it, he thinks, when he sees Zuko through the doorway carrying a teapot over to the stove. 

He looks peaceful here—his normal frown or ever present scowl missing. In moments like these, it’s especially hard for Sokka to reconcile this teenager with the one who marched into his village months ago, demanding to know where the Avatar was hiding. He and Zuko have grown a lot closer recently and he thinks Zuko’s never really had friends before, and honestly? Sokka’s kind of honored to be his first. They also have a surprising amount of things in common, given their vastly different upbringings, so there’s common ground between them. 

It’s also just nice to be around someone his own age. Don’t get him wrong, he loves his friends but, well. Katara’s still his little sister, and Toph and Aang, despite their above average maturity, are still twelve year olds. Back in his village, Sokka had also been the oldest guy around, so in a way, his friendship with Zuko is something of a first for him too. 

Sokka’s thoughts are interrupted when he hears a clatter in the kitchen and then the sound of Zuko cursing. 

Sokka furrows his eyebrows and leans to look towards the kitchen. From what he can see, Zuko’s back is turned to him. 

“You alright in there?” he calls out. 

“Fine! I’m fine,” Zuko replies back, a bit of a bite in his voice. Sokka resists the urge to snort and rolls his eyes instead. Zuko’s a _terrible_ liar. 

Sokka gets up and heads towards the other boy and when he enters the kitchen he sees Zuko clutching his right hand and sees an overturned tea kettle. 

“I said I’m fine,” Zuko says, embarrassment and annoyance lacing his voice. “Go sit back down.” 

“Dude,” Sokka says, piecing the scene together easily, “you just spilled _boiling water_ on your hand.” 

“Yeah?” Zuko says, still clutching his hand. “Firebenders have a higher tolerance for heat, it’s not that big of a deal. It was my fault for being clumsy anyways—a stupid accident.”

Sokka gives Zuko a look. Fire resistance or not, his hand looks red and hurt. “Here, at least let me—” Sokka starts to move to help, but Zuko just scowls in annoyance. 

“I said I’m fine. I can take care of myself,” he snaps. “You don’t need to help me.” 

Sokka pauses and just looks at Zuko for a moment. Then he clucks his tongue and shakes his head. 

“No,” Sokka tells him, grabbing a rag and getting it wet with some lukewarm water. 

“No?” Zuko says, staring at him, clearly confused at Sokka’s reaction. 

Sokka gives him a wide grin. “No. Give me your hand,” he says, and he gently takes the firebender’s hand, and wraps the rag around it. 

“Uh,” Zuko says, but Sokka cuts him off. 

“Go sit. I’ll finish making the tea and bring another rag for your hand.”

Zuko just stares at him and Sokka rolls his eyes. “Shoo!” He says, waving his hand at Zuko. At that, Zuko finally leaves to go sit down. 

Sokka might not be the best cook, but he figures he can manage tea. He rights the tea pot, refills it, and carefully cleans up the excess water. He uses the spark rocks that are near the stove and lights a fire, putting the tea pot on it and waits for it to boil again. 

The water is quickly ready and Sokka measures out some tea leaves and steeps them in the water for a few minutes before removing them. He hopes he left them in long enough, but he honestly doesn’t know the proper amount of time for any tea. He hopes it tastes alright. 

Sokka then gets another rag damp with some water and brings that along with two cups of tea out to Zuko. 

Upon entering the room, he sees Zuko sitting, still holding his hand. Sokka sets the teacups down and then sits next to Zuko. He reaches for Zuko’s hand again, and Zuko pulls it closer to himself. 

“Seriously,” he says, “you don’t have to feel like you have to help me.” 

Sokka resists the urge to roll his eyes again. Instead he gently grabs Zuko’s wrist and this time Zuko lets him. 

“I _know_ that,” Sokka says, unwrapping the first cloth that he put on Zuko’s hand. “I _want_ to,” he tells Zuko. 

“Oh,” Zuko says quietly. 

Sokka smiles and carefully wraps the new cloth around Zuko’s hand. It already looks better—Zuko’s right—if Sokka had spilled water that hot on his hand, it’d be a lot worse. Still, he finishes putting the damp rag on Zuko’s hand, and when he looks up he sees Zuko looking at him with a lot of intensity. 

“Whatcha looking at, bud?” Sokka asks. 

Zuko’s cheeks heat up, but he doesn’t look away. “Just, uh. You have blue eyes,” he says. 

Sokka laughs at that. “You just now noticed that?” 

“No it’s just—they’re really blue,” he says and this time he breaks eye contact, looking away.

“Yeah,” Sokka says. “It’s a Water Tribe thing. Most of us have blue eyes.” 

For whatever reason, at that response Zuko seems to deflate and he pulls away.

“Are you ok?” Sokka asks, concerned. 

Zuko averts his gaze and reaches for his tea. “Yeah, I’m fine. Has Uncle told you about the new tea blend he’s been working on?” Zuko says, changing the subject. 

Sokka doesn’t notice though, and perks up at that. Iroh has let Sokka be his taste tester for the last few blends he’s experimented with and they’ve all been _killer._

“No!” He says. “What’s he working with?”

* * *

The next morning when Jin meets Zuko for their daily walk, Zuko looks like he’s ready to die of mortification when he tells about the previous night. 

“And then I told him he had blue eyes—hey! Stop laughing,” he says miserably. 

“I’m sorry,” Jin says, still laughing. “You’re a terrible flirt.”

“I don’t know why I bothered,” Zuko mumbled, tucking his hands in his pockets. 

“Come on grumpy pants,” Jin says, nudging his shoulder. “You better hurry up or you’ll be late for work.” 

“Maybe I’ll finally get fired,” Zuko says. Jin just laughs at his grumpiness, unfazed. 

“We both know you need that job,” she says and Zuko’s mouth twitches up into a small smile. He rolls his eyes, but knows she’s right. 

They’re approaching the tea shop when Jin suddenly claps her hands together. “Oh!” She says. “I have an idea.”

When Zuko doesn’t say anything, she says, “Aren’t you going to ask me what it is?”

“You’re going to tell me either way,” Zuko tells her. 

“You know, sometimes I wonder why I hang out with you,” she says, rolling her eyes. 

“My sparkling personality isn’t enough for you?” Zuko deadpans and she chuckles at that. 

“I’m just saying, you have some of the worst manners, especially for a waiter,” Jin teases him. “Anyway, back to my great idea. I get off of my shift early tonight so you should introduce me to Sokka.”

Zuko blinks at her. “Why?” 

“So I can see for you if he’s interested in you and—” she says “I want to meet him! He seems like he’s pretty funny.”

“I get the feeling I don’t have much of a say in this,” Zuko mutters.

“Nope!” Jin says, smiling at him as they approach the tea shop. 

“I’ll see you later, Lee,” she tells him and gives him a wave. 

“Yeah,” Zuko says, waving back at her, wondering how his life got to the point where he’s anxious over things as ordinary as crushes meeting best friends.

* * *

As Sokka makes his way towards the familiar tea shop, he’s looking forward to having a distraction. There’s still _no new_ leads on Appa and it’s really driving the morale of everyone down. They all miss Appa, but it’s killing Sokka to see how hard it’s taking a toll on Aang. It’s just not fair—the kid has lost so much and he knows Appa’s one of Aang’s last solid connections to his culture. 

Recently they’ve started putting up posters, despite the warning they’ve received from the Dai Li. Sokka shivers; the Dai Li give him the major creeps—there’s just something not right about them. 

Sokka had considered asking Zuko for help in their search—the guy was kind of an expert at tracking Appa and Aang. But, he’s not one hundred comfortable asking Zuko for help in that department and if he _were_ to ask him, that would be a whole can of worms in and of itself. He would almost certainly have to tell the gaang about it and honestly? How would he even approach that? 

_Hey guys! Good news, Zuko’s agreed to help us look for Appa. I know he used to be evil and chased us around the world, but I’ve been secretly hanging out with him and he’s kind of my friend now?_

Spirits, that’d be an awkward conversation. As of right now, Sokka likes hanging out with Zuko and honestly, the secretive aspect of their friendship is kind of fun. He does hope that someday, in the future, they’ll be a time where he can successfully introduce Zuko to the rest of the gaang, but he doesn’t think that will be anytime soon. Though, Aang _will_ probably need a firebending teacher soon and maybe Zuko could fulfill that position someday. He’s been a great teacher with Sokka during their sword fighting lessons, but teaching Sokka to fight with swords would be very different from teaching Aang firebending. 

Sokka wishes it could be that easy. He knows Zuko has changed and he’s pretty sure Zuko’s no longer set on getting back into the Fire Nation, but not wanting to return home and actively teaching the kid who wants to overthrow your father are two very different things. Sokka _knows_ it’d be a lot to ask someone to take down their own father—even if said father is the Fire Lord and the leader of an imperialist nation of colonizers. 

_Ugh_. He _so_ doesn’t want to think about this anymore. Shaking his head free of those thoughts, he heads into the tea shop and shoots Zuko a smile when he sees the other boy. Sokka goes to sit down at his regular table and waves both his arms in the air in an over-the-top greeting at the firebender. Zuko rolls his eyes when he sees him, but smiles all the same. 

He has other tables to attend, but he eventually makes his way over to Sokka’s. As he approaches, Sokka sees that he already has a tea cup in hand.

Graciously taking the cup, Sokka smiles. “It’s about time,” he says. “What does a guy have to do around here to get waited on?”

Zuko just rolls his eyes again. “You literally already have your tea,” he points out. “I didn’t even have to take your order.”

Sokka sets the cup down on the table, hands still wrapped around it. “Aw,” he croons. “You have my order memorized? Am I your favorite customer?”

Zuko’s cheeks suddenly have a light dusting of pink over them. Sokka’s always amazed at how easy it is to get him to blush and he gets a kick out of making it appear every time. 

“Why is every conversation with you like this?” Zuko asks. 

“Ah, you love it,” Sokka says.

“Whatever,” he replies, but he says it fondly. Zuko then looks like he’s going to say something—opening his mouth—but then he closes it again. “I’m just gonna—go back to work,” he says, pointing to the back.

“Alright, buddy,” Sokka says, leaning back in his chair. He chalks it up to Zuko’s general awkwardness. “I’ll be here when you’re done,” he says. 

Sokka settles into his seat, eager to just relax and not have to think about anything. His solitude only lasts a few moments however, as he’s soon approached by a girl with dark hair. She seems to be around his age and she smiles when she approaches him.

“You must be Sokka!” She says and then she sticks her hand out. “I’m Jin!”

Sokka looks at her hand for a moment before tentatively taking it and shaking. “Yeah,” he says. “I’m sorry but, do we know each other?” 

The girl—Jin—looks over in Zuko’s direction and sighs. “I should have figured,” she mutters under her breath before turning back to Sokka and moving to sit down. “I’m Lee’s friend,” she says. 

“I didn’t know Lee had other friends,” Sokka says and ok, maybe that’s a little rude, but it’s definitely true. 

“I’m just as surprised as you are sometimes,” she says. “I told him I was planning to stop by and meet you tonight, but I guess he neglected to mention that, huh?” 

Jin then turns around and waves, getting Zuko’s attention. Zuko gives a three fingered wave back before disappearing in the back for a moment. He returns not long after with another cup of tea and makes his way over to their table. He sets the tea in front of Jin, who smiles thankfully at him. 

“I see you two have met,” he says. 

“No thanks to you,” Jin says happily and Zuko looks a bit sheepish at that. “Seriously Lee,” she continues, “Sokka says you’ve never mentioned me! And yet you go on and on about him.”

“He talks about me?” Sokka asks, surprised. 

“Oh yeah,” Jin says, a smirk forming on her face. She sets her tea down. “Just the other day he was telling me—”

“Can I get you anything else?” Zuko asks Jin, cutting her off with a glare. She looks up at him and the two seem to have some silent conversation. 

“Nope!” She finally says. “The tea is perfect, as always. You can go back to your other customers, Sokka and I will wait here until your shift is done,” she says pleasantly. 

Zuko looks like he’d rather do anything else than go back to work, but he eventually huffs and stalks back towards the counter. 

Jin laughs again and turns back to Sokka. “He’s so easy to rile up, isn’t he?” She says. 

Sokka laughs in return. “Oh yeah.” 

“So,” Jin asks, taking a sip of her tea before she continues. “How did you and Lee meet? Are you new to Ba Sing Se too?”

“Yeah,” Sokka says, sitting back. “But I’ve known Lee since before he moved to the city.”

“Really?” Jin says, raising her eyebrows. “He never mentioned that before.” 

“Well, uh,” Sokka says. _Shit._ He really shouldn’t have said that; he has no idea what story Zuko told Jin. “I used to travel a lot,” he finally says. “I’ve been all over the world and I met Lee while traveling around. My friends and I met him once or twice in our travels.” 

“So you’ve been friends for a while,” she says.

“Uh, yeah! You could say that,” Sokka replies. 

“That’s so nice!” Jin says, cupping her tea. “I’ve always wanted to travel around the world. I’ve lived in Ba Sing Se my entire life. I’ve barely been outside of the lower ring,” she says. “I would love to see the other nations and go exploring somewhere,” she says dreamily, looking past Sokka. Then she returns her gaze to him, a question in her eyes.

“Say,” she asks. “During your time traveling did you ever visit the circus? I’ve always wanted to, but it’s too crowded here for the circus to visit.”

“I can’t say that I have,” Sokka says. Jin cocks her head and the thinking look on her face has Sokka feeling like he just said the wrong thing, but he can’t for the life of him figure out what that would have been. 

“So how did _you_ two meet?” Sokka counters, hoping to move away from the subject of Zuko’s past. 

“I asked him out on a date. It went pretty terribly, but he was incredibly sweet at the end,” she chuckles. 

“Hold on, hold on,” Sokka says, pumping his hand. “ _You’re_ the girl he went on a date with?”

“So he _has_ talked about me,” Jin says with a laugh. 

“Well, he mentioned he went on a date and that it went ‘fine,’” Sokka says, using air quotes. 

Jin looks like she’s going to start howling with laughter at that. “Fine?” she says, “It was basically a disaster. He yelled that I wasn’t his girlfriend and then ran away after I kissed him.” 

Sokka starts laughing at that too, but something uncomfortable twists in his stomach when she mentions them kissing. He ignores it, however, and continues his conversation with Jin. 

They talk about themselves and share their respective opinions about Ba Sing Se. When Sokka mentions that he lives in the Upper Ring, Jin’s eyes widen a bit. 

“Really?” She asks. “Wow, you must come from money.” 

Sokka smiles, but shakes his head. “Nah, it’s more like I have important friends and _they_ have money,” he says, thinking of Aang—being the Avatar and Toph being a Beifong. 

Jin nods her head understandingly. “Have you been to the theater?” She asks. “I’ve heard there’s just a wonderful theater in the Upper Ring.”

“Nah. I haven’t really had the time.”

“Well, you should definitely check it out when you get the chance,” Jin says earnestly. “You should invite Lee! He loves the theater,” she says. 

“Really?” Sokka asks. Zuko’s never mentioned that to him before, but well, to be fair, the subject hadn’t really come up either. 

“Oh yeah,” Jin says nodding her head. “He’s a big nerd when it comes to plays. Just don’t get him started on Love Amongst the Dragons—he’ll go on and on about that one.”

“Hey,” a voice comes from behind Jin. “It’s a great show if it’s done _correctly.”_

Jin rolls her eyes and half turns to face Zuko, who’s done with his shift. “Yes yes, I _know_ Lee. You’ve talked about this maybe a dozen times now. You done with your shift?” she asks. 

Zuko nods his head and Jin smiles at him. “Great!” she says. “We should all go on a walk together, seeing as it’s so beautiful outside.”

Sokka’s inclined to agree with her; it’s an unusually warm night in Ba Sing Se and although the sun has almost finished setting, there’s still a warmth clinging to the night air. Plus, Sokka wants to talk to Jin more—she’s funny and has a quick tongue. Also, he’s still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Jin is the girl that Zuko went on a date with—who Zuko apparently _kissed._

Are they dating? Sokka wonders as they leave the shop and Jin immediately takes Zuko’s arm as they walk. Zuko hadn’t mentioned having a girlfriend and Jin had introduced herself simply as Zuko’s friend but they seemed oftly close. 

“Oh! Sokka,” Jin says, pulling him out of his thoughts. “Have you seen the Firelight Fountain?”

“I haven’t,” Sokka says honestly and Jin’s face lights up with excitement. “You have to see it! Let's head over there. It’s my favorite place in the city and it’s so beautiful at night.”

“Hopefully it’ll actually be lit up this time,” Zuko says. 

Jin rolls her eyes. “It will be, I’m sure. Don’t be such a pessimist,” she says nudging his shoulder. 

“I’m not,” Zuko says and both Jin and Sokka laugh at him. 

“Dude, you’re probably the most pessimistic person I know,” Sokka says, elbowing his other side. “I agree with Jin.”

Zuko groans at that. “I knew you two meeting would be a mistake.”

Jin and Sokka both laugh again and they continue on their way. As they walk and talk Sokka reflects on just how nice this all is; maybe it’s selfish of him, enjoying this, but he does anyway. In moments like these, he wonders if his life would be more like this if it hadn’t been for the war. They’d all been born into it and all their lives had been shaped by it growing up—it’s almost impossible to imagine a life without it. 

But maybe, without the war, he’d be a regular teenager. Maybe his mom would still be alive, maybe his sister wouldn’t have had to grow up so quickly, and maybe Aang wouldn’t have such a big weight on his shoulders. 

But well, it doesn’t do anyone good to dwell on maybes, Sokka thinks, and he banishes those thoughts out of his head as they approach the fountain Jin was telling him about. 

She was certainly right, it is beautiful. There’s a row of lanterns lit around the fountain and within its water float many more, reflecting light against its glittering waters. 

“Isn’t it just wonderful?” Jin asks him, looking at him. 

“Yeah,” Sokka breaths, still taking in the site. 

The three of them stand together, Zuko in the middle, watching the lanterns lazily move around the waters before Jin speaks. 

“Well,” she says, moving away from Zuko, “I better get going. I have to work early tomorrow morning.”

She turns to Sokka and smiles. “It was nice meeting you,” she says, “we should all hang out again sometime.”

“Yeah!” Sokka says, smiling at her. “That’d be fun. I’d like that.” 

Jin turns back to Zuko. “You better introduce me better to your new friends in the future,” she says, teasingly. 

Zuko rolls his eyes, but smiles and mutters an ‘alright.’ Then Jin leans up on her toes and whispers something in Zuko’s good ear. Whatever she says makes him blush, _badly_ , and Sokka feels his curiosity jump. Before she leans back down she gives Zuko a small kiss on the cheek. Sokka feels that familiar twist in his stomach again; they must be together, he decides. 

“Goodnight Lee!” 

“Goodnight Jin.” 

Then it’s Zuko and Sokka in the soft light of the lanterns. 

“So,” Sokka says, rocking on his heels. “You and Jin.”

Zuko looks at him, his one eyebrow furrowed. “What about us?”

“How long have you two been together?” He asks. 

His eyebrow climbs up his forehead. “What are you talking about?” Zuko asks. “We’re just friends.”

“But,” Sokka starts, feeling like he needs to justify himself, “you two went on a date and she just kissed you!” 

Zuko snorts at him and looks back at the fountain. “Our date went horribly, but Jin wanted to stay friends,” he says shrugging. “She’s really touchy-feely, that’s all.”

“So you’re not together?”

Zuko looks at him from the corner of his eye, his expression fond. “We’re not together.”

Sokka, for some reason, feels relief at Zuko’s confession. He looks over at the other boy and thinks Zuko looks like he fits in here. His face is softly contoured by the flickering lights of the fountain, smoothing his hard edges and drawing out the gentle features of his face. 

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

* * *

Everything is fine, until it isn’t. Everything is uncomplicated, until it isn’t. 

Jin had told Zuko that she thought Sokka liked him and then Uncle had received the news that he would be opening his own tea shop in the Upper Ring. Everything seemed good— _had_ been good. 

And then he found the poster. A poster of the Avatar’s sky bison. Which was missing apparently. 

Zuko’s outside the tea shop, still clutching the piece of paper, reading and rereading the lettering. _So this is why Sokka’s in Ba Sing Se._ He had wondered why the Avatar and his friends would come to this city and had come up with several different probable ideas, but he hadn’t thought it was because they were missing their pet. 

Tucking the paper into his robe, he wonders why Sokka hadn’t told him. According to the poster, the animal had been missing for _weeks_ —the entire time Zuko and Sokka had been in Ba Sing Se.

Why hadn’t he mentioned it? _It’s because he doesn’t trust you, and why would he?_ a voice in the back of Zuko’s head tells him. _Or maybe it’s because he simply doesn’t think you’d be useful enough to help. Maybe he’s embarrassed of your friendship—he doesn’t want his friends to know he’s friends with the disgraced prince who chased them around the world._

Zuko shakes his head at those thoughts, but they persist, repeating themselves for the rest of his shift. He’s quieter than usual—not that he’s too talkative anyway—but he knows Uncle notices his behavior. When he tries to question him about it, Zuko just brushes him off and refuses to talk about it even after they make their way back to their apartment. 

He ignores the concern in his uncle’s eyes and waits until the other man is asleep before he grabs the familiar blue mask and a pair of dual swords. 

He quietly sneaks out that night, searching for any sign of the animal. Uncle always tells he acts before he thinks and maybe that’s true, because he has no idea what he’s doing right now. He has no plan past finding Appa. 

Maybe he feels like he needs to prove himself—to Sokka, his father, himself—he’s not sure. There’s a small voice in the back of his head—the same vicious one from before—that’s telling him perhaps if he gets his hands on Appa, he can use the animal as leverage against the Avatar—perhaps he could use this sky bison to get back to the Fire Nation.

The thought almost scares Zuko; he thinks of it so easily. But he’s not sure he could do that—he’s not sure he could betray Sokka. 

So, yeah, he’s not one hundred percent sure what he’s doing or exactly why, but he knows he’s going to find the animal and he lets his mind focus on that, all other thoughts falling away. 

As Zuko runs across rooftops and streets, across the city a group of friends stumble across a boy who doesn’t quite remember how he arrived in Ba Sing Se and who doesn’t remember being dragged away after a fight with a firebender. 

In one night, everything becomes more complicated than anyone could have imagined. 

Zuko eventually finds the bison, against all odds. The poor animal is locked up in chains and Zuko approaches him, swords raised, ready to cut the animal's chains, when the door behind him opens. 

He quickly gets into a fighting stance but feels his heart stutter when he sees who it is. 

“So, the Blue Spirit. I wonder who could be behind that mask,” Uncle says. 

Zuko scowls and throws the mask off. “What are you doing here? How did you follow me?”

“I was just about to ask you the same thing,” Uncle says with uncharacteristic annoyance in his voice. “What do you plan to do with the Avatar’s bison? Bring him back to our apartment? Should I go put on a pot of tea for him?” 

“I have to get him out of here first,” Zuko says, ignoring his uncle’s questions. 

“And then what?” Uncle yells—and Zuko’s momentarily stunned because Uncle almost never yells at him. “You never think these things through! This is _exactly_ what happened when you captured the Avatar at the North Pole.”

“I would have figured something out!” Zuko yells back, but his Uncle is having none of it. 

“No! If his friends hadn’t found you, you would have frozen to death, Zuko,” his uncle says, his voice a mix of anger, desperation and fear. “Did you even tell Sokka you were looking for the bison?”

“I know what I’m doing,” Zuko says. 

“Do you?” Uncle questions. “Are you making your own decisions, following your own destiny? Or are you following a path someone else has tried to force on you?” 

Zuko _knows_ who he’s talking about, he _knows_ he means his father and he can feel his anger rising at the accusation. 

“Stop it!” He says, gripping his swords so tightly it almost hurts. 

“I’m _begging_ you, Prince Zuko,” his Uncle says, voice still raised and Zuko feels an ache in his chest—even in this state his uncle still insists on calling him prince. “It’s time for you to look _inward_ and begin asking yourself the big questions. Who are you, and what do _you_ want?” 

At that he feels his anger rise because he _doesn’t know what he wants._ He wants to feel proud of his nation again, like he did when he was a child, instead of the disgust and fear. He wants to forget Song’s burned leg, and how it makes him burn with anger. He wants to have a face that isn’t a constant reminder of his own failures.

He wants his father to love him, he wants to go _home._ He wants to be friends with Jin, he wants to grow closer to Sokka, he wants to be _normal._

He lets out a frustrated yell and throws his swords to the ground. The clang of metal against stone echoes around them and by the time the reverberations stop, Zuko already knows what he’s going to do. 

It feels like years later when they finally arrive back at their apartment. Zuko feels tired, his exhaustion bone deep. 

“You did the right thing,” his uncle tells him. “I’m proud of you.”

Normally, he would feel a burst of happiness at his uncle’s praise, but he’s focusing all his energy on staying upright. 

“Uncle,” he says, his voice shaking. “I don’t feel so good.”

Reaching out, he tries to use the table to his right to steady himself but it’s useless. He hears the shattering of a pot and then he’s encased in darkness.

* * *

All things considered, today has been pretty good, Sokka thinks to himself. They got Appa back, got rid of Long Feng, convinced the Earth King to help them with the war and Sokka’s going to see his dad again soon. 

All in all, today was a huge win for their little gaang. 

Originally Katara had suggested they all split up right away, but they talked it over and decided to take a week or two to gather themselves and prepare for their respective journeys. Also, while Sokka is more than grateful that Katara has volunteered to stay behind in Ba Sing Se, he’d feel better going over the ins and outs of the invasion plans with her in more detail before he leaves. 

That, and well, they _just_ got the whole family back together. It feels wrong to immediately split up. The day of the black sun is drawing closer, but they still have time. 

Sokka can’t believe their luck, though; he can’t believe that he’s going to see his dad again before the month is over. He hasn’t seen him in _years._ Though, there’s a part of him that’s reluctant to leave Ba Sing Se and leave his friends behind. To leave Zuko behind. 

Oh Spirits, he has to tell him he’s leaving soon. He may have a week or two left, but he should probably tell Zuko sooner, rather than later. 

It’s currently early morning and everyone is still asleep, but Sokka thinks _there’s no time like the present,_ and decides to set off for the Lower Ring. He leaves a note behind, saying he’s gone off to the market to shop for supplies for his upcoming trip and carefully tip toes out, so as to not wake anyone else up. 

Sokka figures that Zuko will be up already; the firebender had told him that he, like all firebenders, rose with the sun, meaning that he got up at an ungodly hour every day. Honestly, Sokka doesn’t know how he functions, getting up that early every day.

Sokka tries to figure out what he’s going to tell Zuko exactly while also pondering how firebenders would deal with the all day sun that the South Pole has for half the year as he makes his way down familiar streets. Before he knows it, he’s in front of Zuko and Iroh’s apartment and he’s hesitant to knock. Sighing, he does anyway and the door opens to an unexpected sight. 

See, Sokka had expected to see a grumpy Zuko, or perhaps an overly cheerful Iroh. What he gets instead is an Iroh who, for once, looks his age. His hair is messier than usual, and there are pronounced bags under his eyes—giving the impression that he hadn’t slept the night before. 

“Hello, Sokka,” he says wearily. 

Sokka opens his mouth to ask where Zuko is, but looking at Iroh’s face he rethinks that. “Is everything alright?” He says, instead. 

If anything, Iroh looks more tired when he answers Sokka’s question. “Unfortunately, my nephew is very sick and I’ve been caring for him, waiting for his fever to break.” 

“Zuko’s sick?” Sokka asks, worry forming in his stomach. Last time Sokka saw him—which wasn’t that long ago—he was fine. He notices he still has his hand raised from when he was knocking, and he lowers it. 

Iroh nods solemnly, closing his eyes. Sokka suddenly feels very out of his depth. 

“Is he—is it bad?” Sokka asks, unsure of how to phrase his question. Though he thinks he may already know the answer. 

Iroh considers him and his question for a moment before he shuffles aside. “Would you like to see him?” He asks Sokka in lue of answering. 

He’s a little caught off guard but before he can think of another answer he says, “Yes.” 

Iroh leads him inside and gently shuts the door behind him. Zuko’s laying in the middle of the floor, shirtless, with a thin blanket covering him. He seems to be asleep, but even before Sokka approaches him, he can tell that Zuko is sweating profusely and Sokka can see his normally pale skin is flushed. 

Iroh comes from behind Sokka and kneels next to his nephew. He takes a wet rag and carefully places it on Zuko’s forehead—dabbing it with care. At his uncle’s touch, Zuko stirs and groans, but doesn’t wake. Sokka moves to sit on the other side of the teenager—across from Iroh. He hears Zuko mutter something, but he can’t make anything out. 

“What happened?” Sokka asks. “He was perfectly fine a few days ago.”

Iroh removes the rag and sits back wearily. “My nephew is not sick in the traditional sense, you see. What’s inside of him is not physical, but mental.”

“So, this is all in his head?” Sokka asks, incredulously. 

Despite his worry, Sokka thinks he sees a flash of amusement in Iroh’s eyes at Sokka’s comment. “You are so similar to my nephew, he’s just as disbelieving sometimes,” he says, before he sombers up again. “But yes, to an extent, it is. You recently found your flying bison, yes?” 

Sokka’s taken off guard at the change of subject. “Yeah, we did. How do you even know that?” 

Iroh nods his head again. “My nephew was the one that freed him.” 

“Oh,” Sokka says. And then, “Wait, hold on—what?” 

There’s several questions racing through Sokka’s head. How did he know about Appa? How did he _find_ Appa? Why didn’t he mention any of this to Sokka? 

“Zuko found one of your posters and took it upon himself to find the animal himself.”

“Why?” Sokka asks, because above all, that’s the question that keeps reverberating in his head. 

Iroh turns back to his nephew and brushes some of his hair that’s slick against his forehead with sweat. 

“I’m not sure even he knows,” Iroh says. “He often acts without a full plan. Freeing Appa and letting the animal go free was an incredibly hard decision for him—it went against everything he was taught and everything he strived for for years. Because of that, his body was thrown into turmoil—he’s fighting against who he was taught to be and who he _truly_ is,” Iroh says and Sokka’s not sure what to say to that but given what Zuko told him about his banishment, he believes what Iroh’s telling him. 

Iroh speaks again. “However, I believe you were his main motivator for freeing Appa.” And when he says that, Iroh turns to stare directly at Sokka. 

_“Me?”_

“Yes,” Iroh tells him, his voice so full of sincerity that Sokka has to turn his head away from the older man. “Whether you know it or not, you have been an incredible influence on my nephew.”

“I’ve just been his friend,” Sokka says, honestly. 

Iroh smiles sadly. “He’s never had a normal friend,” he tells him. “My nephew has had a hard life, and he lost much of his childhood.”

It’s Sokka’s turn to look at Zuko, who’s curled in on himself on the floor in front of him. “Yeah, somehow I feel like the Fire Lord wasn’t too big on letting his children have a normal childhood,” he says, bitterly. 

Sokka looks up to see Iroh raising an eyebrow at him. “Zuko, uh, told me about how he got his scar,” Sokka says, hoping that answers Iroh’s questioning gaze. 

If anything, Iroh looks more surprised for a moment at that; his hand doesn’t leave Zuko’s forehead, but he looks like he’s examining Sokka. Sokka shifts uncomfortably under the older man’s golden eyes—there’s no malicious intent behind them, but rather it’s like Sokka is a puzzle Iroh is trying to put together. 

When he finally speaks, his voice is so gentle, it’s like he thinks he’ll scare Sokka away. “Thank you, Sokka, for giving us a chance. And thank you for showing Zuko what a normal life—a good life—can look like.”

Sokka honestly doesn’t know what to say in response to such sincerity, so he just nods his head. He shifts his gaze between Zuko and Iroh and he can see weariness and worry weighing on Iroh.

“I can stay and watch over him, if you want to rest for a little bit,” Sokka offers. Iroh looks mildly surprised at his offer and Sokka’s afraid he’ll tell him no, so he continues before Iroh can speak. “I really don’t mind. I bet you haven’t slept since he got his fever, and you need to rest too. And,” Sokka looks down at his friend, “I want to stay with him.” 

Iroh reaches over and takes Sokka’s hand. “You are a kind soul and a good friend,” Iroh tells him. “But before I rest, I do need to run and get some supplies for Zuko. Would you be alright watching him if I’m gone for about thirty minutes?”

“Of course!” Sokka says. “Do what you need to do. I’ll watch over him.”

“Thank you,” Iroh tells him, moving to stand up. 

“Of course,” Sokka repeats, looking at Zuko’s quiet form. 

They’re alone, not long after that. The tiny apartment is quiet, save for the sounds of the Lower Ring that float in the open window and Zuko’s steady, wet, breathing. 

Sokka sits next to his friend, watching his chest go up and down, up and down. Occasionally, he grabs the bucket of water near them and wets a rag to put on Zuko’s forehead, mimicking Iroh’s previous actions. His forehead is _burning up_ and Sokka vaguely wonders if it’s normal for firebenders to have worse fevers, because he’s never felt one this hot before. 

Zuko reacts to his touch. He murmurs something under his breath again and it’s all slurred together, so Sokka can’t make out any of it—though he thinks he hears Zuko say ‘mother.’ He stops talking soon, though, and curls onto his side, making himself smaller. 

Sokka’s stomach knots, and he hopes either Zuko’s fever breaks soon, or that Iroh returns quickly. 

Above all, he hopes Zuko will be okay. He really really hopes that Zuko will be okay. 

Sokka feels so helpless right now—he wants desperately to be able to _do_ something to help Zuko, but all he can do is sit and watch him, making sure his chest keeps moving. 

Up and down, up and down. 

Sokka hates feeling helpless—he hates just sitting _there._ He couldn’t help his dad when he left and he wasn’t there to help his mother. 

He wasn’t able to help Yue. His heart still pangs when he thinks about how she died—he thinks that it always will. Sokka never wants to experience pain like that again. 

Zuko’s chest continues to move, up and down, up and down.

 _He’s not going to let anything happen to Zuko,_ Sokka thinks to himself, and he thinks it with such conviction that it startles him. He gently wipes the sweat from Zuko’s forehead, and he thinks about how fiercely he’s come to care for the other teenager. He looks forward to their chats, he enjoys seeing him smile, enjoys pulling small laughs and chuckles out of him, enjoys the way Zuko rolls his eyes at Sokka’s bad jokes and Sokka thinks he doesn’t want to want any of that to go away, ever. 

The next thought hits him like a fire nation navy ship. 

He _likes Zuko._ Romantically. 

Suddenly, everything makes so much more sense. 

Iroh eventually returns, and he rests. Zuko’s still out of it, sweating on the floor between them. Sokka continues to sit vigil next to Zuko, even as the sun sinks low in the sky. When Iroh is done resting, he tells Sokka that he should head home for the night.

Sokka shakes his head. “I don’t want to leave,” he tells Iroh, truthfully.

“I am sure your friends will be worried if you don’t leave soon,” Iroh tells him gently. Sokka knows he’s right but—

“I want to stay,” Sokka says, firmly and Iroh sighs, but doesn’t argue with him.

“You should rest too, then,” Iroh tells him. “I promise to wake you if there’s any changes.”

Sokka, feeling weary, nods, and makes his way to the other side of the room, and he settles into the other bedroll. He arranges himself so he can still see Zuko, and he tries to keep his eyes open and on Zuko as long as he can. Sleep eventually wins out, and Sokka’s out before he knows it.

* * *

Zuko almost drowned when he was four years old. 

Most memories from such a young point in a childhood are hazy—they’re hard to focus in on—made foggy by the passage of time. 

But not this one; Zuko can remember this day with startling clarity. It is a memory colored with fear, panic and sharpened by relief and surprise. 

He was four, playing in the warm ocean water when suddenly the tide pulled him out, farther away from shore than he was comfortable with and then he could no longer feel the sand beneath his feet. He remembers the panic he felt, as he flailed to keep afloat. He was only four and had not yet learned most of the basics in swimming. 

He remembers desperately reaching towards the beach and he then how his vision had swum as he finally went under. He remembers his lungs burning as he instinctively inhaled liquid instead of air; he remembers thinking, through the thick panic, how _odd_ it was that water, not fire, could also make someone burn. 

He then remembers two strong hands grabbing him and mercifully dragging him back towards the surface—back towards the air and the sun. 

He remembers that ever familiar voice berating him as he coughed up salty water, telling him to be more careful and to not foolishly go where he couldn’t swim. A voice that, at four years old, he knows to be cautious of; a voice he has not yet grown to fear. 

Four years old and already disappointing his father. 

The rest of the day is blurred—there’s flashes of his mother rubbing his back and he can recall the fact that his throat had hurt—but everything else is muddled. 

Except for the drowning; that’s a feeling he’ll never forget. 

Zuko had once asked his mother about that day. It's an almost crystal clear memory, frozen in his mind. He’s sure he remembers it correctly, but he has a hard time believing his father was the one who had pulled him out of the water, saving him. However, when he asked the Fire Lady, his mother assured him that he had remembered everything correctly.

Zuko almost drowned when he was four and twelve years later, he thinks he must be back at that beach, trapped beneath those waves. It’s hard to breathe—hard to focus. Everything feels slow and muted and there’s resistance whenever he tries to move. 

He must be drowning again. He has to be—it’s the only thing that makes sense. He almost drowned at the North Pole too. Perhaps he’s back there—trapped under ice that just won’t melt. But no, that’s not right either because he’s hot he feels like he’s burning up from the inside out. 

(Not from the outside in, though. He knows all too well what that feels like).

He tries to move—to claw his way to the surface so he can breathe again, but he can’t get there, no matter how hard he tries. 

His limbs feel almost disconnected from his body—he’s willing them to move, but they’re slow and uncoordinated. But he can’t breath and he’s trapped under the waves, so he tries to claw his way upward anyway. 

He feels two strong, soft hands on him, pulling him in the right direction—towards the surface. He feels like he can breath again, and sees his uncle but no—that can’t be right. It was his father who pulled him out of the ocean, not Uncle. 

But maybe his memory was wrong, maybe his mom was wrong. Maybe it _had_ been Uncle who had saved him twelve years ago. It would be better if it had been him. 

Uncle’s hands are soft. His father’s hands never were. 

“You need to rest,” Uncle says, and Zuko wonders if this is real or a dream or a false memory. 

His Uncle’s face swims into his vision and he looks so worried and so _sad_ and Zuko wants to tell him it’s _fine_ he’s not drowning anymore, he’s here and breathing even if it feels like a chore. But he can’t make his mouth move the way he wants to and his mind won’t let him concentrate long enough to find the words anyway. 

His eyes start to droop and he fights to stay awake—fights like he always does, but his body is slowly winning. 

“Please sleep, Zuko. You need to rest,” his Uncle’s voice says again, and now he feels a soft hand brushing over his hair. 

_A man needs his rest._

His voice is still so _sad_ and Zuko hates when Uncle is sad and so he thinks he can grant him this small gift if it’ll make him happy. 

He lets his eyes close again and with them he goes back under. It’s easier to breathe this time but he dreams of dragons and choices and of his face unmarred and then of his mother and he hears the voices of his Uncle and sister and then he’s sinking into the ground instead of drowning. His mother is above him and he reaches out a hand towards her but it’s no use. She turns and walks away, down the familiar hallway outside his room and Zuko wants to scream—he tries to warn her—tries to beg her to stop to come _back_ because if she keeps going down that hallway she’ll disappear for good and he’ll never see her again.

But his voice is caught and he keeps sinking down into the earth and that familiar panic kicks in and then—

He’s awake.

* * *

Sokka’s jerked out of his sleep early the next morning—so early the sun’s not up yet—to hushed voices. When he opens his eyes he’s momentarily confused about where he is, but then last night’s events come slamming back to him.

Sokka swings his body up and sees Zuko sitting up, sharing a cup of a tea with his uncle, looking a thousand times better than he did last night.

Sokka feels like he could pass out with relief.

“You’re awake!” Sokka all but shouts, flinging the blanket off of himself and making his way over to Zuko.

Zuko has a small smile on his face as he sips his tea. “So are you,” he says.

Sokka ignores his sarcasm and hovers next to Zuko. “Are you alright? How are you feeling? When did your fever break?”

Zuko looks a bit overwhelmed with all of Sokka’s questions but Sokka can’t bring himself to care because Zuko is sitting up and _talking_ and he’s _alright._

Iroh, who’s sitting across from Sokka, chuckles softly and rises. “I’ll go put on another pot of tea for you two,” he says and makes his way over to the small kitchen.

Zuko gives his uncle a look but turns back to Sokka to answer his questions. “My fever broke earlier this morning and I’ve been up for a little under an hour.”

“And how do you feel?” Sokka asks, repeating his earlier question.

Zuko looks towards the window and cradles the teacup in his hand, considering. “I feel…good,” he says, and there’s that small smile again.

“Yeah?”

Zuko turns back to Sokka and gestures with his teacup. “Yeah,” he says and he sounds like he means it.

Sokka grins at him. “I’m glad,” he tells him.

They’re both quiet for a moment.

“Hey,” Sokka says, changing the subject. “Your uncle told me what you did for us—how you freed Appa,” he says and he hurries to finish his thought at the panicked look on Zuko’s face. “I want to thank you! Seriously, thank you,” Sokka repeats sternly, making sure Zuko understands that he means it. “I don’t know why you went to find him—and you don’t have to tell me, but I can’t tell you how much it meant to me—to all of us—to finally get him back.”

Zuko steadily stares at his cup like it holds all the answers to the universe, his cheeks rose tinted, but not with fever. “You’re welcome,” he tells Sokka, refusing to look up. He takes a small sip, continuing to avert his gaze. “Thank you for staying here with me,” he tells Sokka. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Of course I did,” Sokka says. “I care about you. I really am glad your fever broke; it was scary, seeing you in and out of reality like that.”

Zuko grimaces at the memory. “It wasn’t fun for me either,” he says.

“You mumbled in your sleep a lot,” Sokka tells him, and Zuko blanches at that. “Just—I couldn’t make out anything,” Sokka says. “The only thing I could make out was you said ‘mother’ once or twice.”

Zuko thumbs the outside of the teacup he’s holding. “Yeah, that makes sense,” he says, frowning as he thinks hard about something. “I dreamed about her a few times.”

“You’ve never mentioned her before,” Sokka says, not exactly prompting Zuko, but more making an observation. He knows that Zuko is touchy about his past, and he wants him to know he doesn’t have to expand on this topic if he doesn’t want to do so.

“Yeah she left when I was eleven after—” he stops and his eyes flick towards the kitchen where his uncle is still making tea. “Well. She disappeared when I was eleven,” is what he settles on. “I miss her a lot. She was nothing like my father.”

Sokka sits back on his hands and looks over his left shoulder. “Yeah, I get that, kind of. My mom died when I was young,” he says.

“Really?” Zuko asks, looking at him.

“She was murdered during a raid. She died protecting Katara.”

There’s a beat of uncomfortable silence. Sokka chooses to fill it.

“I miss her every day, but sometimes I have a hard time just remembering her face, and I don’t like to think about what that says about me as a son.”

Sometimes when he thinks of his mother, he almost sees Katara’s face and how fucked up is that? But he can still remember her voice—that’s something that’s still as clear as the day she died, and that’s something he clings too. If he forgets her face, okay, fine, but he’ll never let himself forget his mother’s voice—the sound of her laugh and the beautiful reverb of her singing.

“I’m sorry,” Zuko tells him and Sokka jerks his head back towards Zuko when the other teen reaches out to place his hand on Sokka’s knee. “I don’t know anything about your mother, but I’m sure she would be proud of you,” Zuko says.

Zuko doesn’t move his hand away and the skin under it feels warm. “Thank you.”

Iroh enters the room with a fresh pot of tea and Zuko takes his hand back. Sokka feels oddly cold without it.

Sokka coughs into his hand and looks out the tiny window and sees that the sun is just peeking out over the horizon.

Oh _shit,_ he thinks. Katara is so going to grill him for being out so late.

“I really hate to turn down free tea, especially from you,” he tells Iroh, “But I really have to go. I’ll see you either tonight or tomorrow?” he asks Zuko.

The prince nods, and Iroh smiles at him. “Of course, we completely understand. Have a safe trip back home, and thank you again, sincerely, for all you have done for us.”

“It’s nothing anyone else wouldn’t have done,” Sokka says, waving his hand and making his way towards the door.

He makes his way through, but before he closes the door, Sokka sticks his head back in. “Don’t fall into another angst coma while I’m gone!” Zuko’s indignant sputtering puts a smile on Sokka’s face that sticks almost the entire way home.

* * *

“You know, Sokka stayed here the entire night.”

“I know, Uncle.”

“He _insisted_ on staying. He didn’t want to leave your side.”

“Uncle _please.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sokka said it’s MY turn to talk abt my childhood trauma. 
> 
> This chapter ended up being a lot longer and angstier than originally planned. I ALMOST split it in two but thought fuck it—it’s already written might as well post it. 
> 
> I hope I did a good job blending canon and my AU. Tbh I personally don’t really like zuko’s angst coma in the show (it’s a lot), but his dreams SLAPPED and I wanted to play with that. Also, the gaang will be more present in the next two chapters, I promise!!! 
> 
> Im about to work a 70 hour week sooooooooo it’ll be a hot sec before the next update. Thanks for your patience everyone. 
> 
> As always, I’m at torsamors on tumblr and would appreciate a comment ♥️


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara trails off, biting her lip in concern. “Just be careful, alright? We’re going to be leaving Ba Sing Se soon…I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”
> 
> Sokka feels a familiar knot of anxiety forming in his stomach. “Yeah,” he says, thinking about how he has to tell Zuko he’s leaving soon. “Yeah, I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is late....work has been kiiiiilling me. But you guys 😭 the reception I’ve received, especially to the last chapter. Your comments really do mean the world to me!! ♥️♥️♥️

_I love you. I want us both to eat well. - Christopher Citro_

As he heads back home that night, a small part of Sokka is hopeful that maybe it’s early enough in the morning that the others will still be asleep. _Maybe_ he can sneak into the house before everyone wakes up and from there, he can tell them he came back late after everyone fell asleep and come up with some lie about getting caught up with people—or something— at the market. 

The closer he gets to the house, the more Sokka convinces himself that he’ll be able to do just that—it won’t be a big deal. He’ll be able to sneak back in and handle everything just fine. At least, this is what he tells himself to squash down the growing anxiety in his stomach. 

He’s still firmly in his denial when he approaches the door to their shared house. The morning sun is just starting to warm the air around him, chasing away the chilly night air, when the door swings open and in front of him stands Katara. Behind her stand a very tired looking Toph and Aang. 

“Sokka!” She cries, rushing to him. Sokka cringes at the worry in her voice—worry that _he_ caused. He lets her hover around him for a few moments as she gives him a once over to make sure he’s uninjured. 

“Hey guys,” he says awkwardly, before turning to his sister and saying, “I’m fine, I’m fine.”

“You are?” Aang asks from behind, rubbing one of his eyes. “You were gone all night.”

“Yeah,” Sokka says sheepishly, “Look, I’m really sorry if I worried you guys. I got caught up with...some stuff.”

Katara narrows her eyes at his response and she steps back, satisfied that he’s uninjured. The previous worry in her eyes is clearing, making room for suspicion. 

“Where have you been?” She asks, hands on her hips. 

“It’s complicated,” Sokka tries, not sure of what to say. “Listen, I know I worried you all, but that wasn’t my intention--”

“‘Wasn’t your intention?’” Katara asks, getting more worked up as Sokka continues to avoid her questions. “You were gone _all night!_ Sokka, we were worried sick! If you hadn’t come back soon, we were about to search Ba Sing Se up and down.”

“Katara I—”

“No! Sokka, this isn’t just about tonight. You’ve been so absent lately. You always spend your nights away from us, you’re more aloof than ever—we’ve been worried. _I’ve_ been worried about you. What’s been going _on?_ ” She finally asks, her eyebrows furrowed. 

And honestly, Sokka doesn’t know what to say—he feels _awful_ about making them then all worry. He’s typically been the one to look out for all of them—their self appointed guardian, but he knows he’s been slacking at that role lately. Looking at his sister, he can see that her anger stems from a place of protection—above all she is worried about him. _He_ made her needlessly worry, when it should be the other way around. 

He takes a deep breath, and decides to tell the truth. 

_Mostly._

Baby steps, right? 

“Okay,” he says, inhaling deeply. “I’m sorry I put you guys through all that worry. I haven’t been completely honest with you all, and that wasn’t fair of me. You’re right, I _have_ been absent and that’s because....I sorta met someone,” he says. 

There’s a pause as everyone processes the information Sokka just gave them. 

_“What?”_ And the room explodes in chaos around him. 

“You’ve been sneaking around because you have a secret _girlfriend?”_ Toph asks, a sly grin on her face. 

“No! I mean, yeah?” Sokka sighs again and pinches the bridge of his nose—a habit he suspects he’s picked up from Zuko. “It’s...complicated.”

“I think that’s great, Sokka!” Aang tells him with a smile, trying to ease the situation. Sokka returns his smile, weakly. Man, he loves that kid. 

“Thanks Aang,” he says. 

“Well, why haven’t we met her?” Toph asks, crossing her arms. 

“Like I said,” Sokka says, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away. “It’s...complicated. They have a complicated past and...they’re really shy,” Sokka finishes lamely. “They know about you all! I think they’re...intimidated. They’d love to meet you all, but maybe when we return to Ba Sing Se.”

Toph tilts her head and squints her eyes at that, but Katara and Aang both seem to soften at his words, and Sokka feels some of the tension ease. 

“Sokka,” Katara tells him, “I’m happy you found someone here, but next time just _tell us._ What, did you think we would try to stop you from seeing someone?”

“Ha! I don’t know. Just me being weird, I guess,” Sokka says, awkwardly. 

“Well, if you do plan to stay out the _entire night_ again, give us a heads up, okay?” Katara says, half teasing, half serious. 

“Will do!” he tells her with a salute, hoping to move on from this conversation.

“Are we done with the intervention?” Toph asks. “I, for one, would like to go back to sleep.” 

Katara rolls her eyes, but smiles goodnaturedly at Toph. “Yes, we’re done here.”

Toph and Aang go back to their beds, leaving Katara and Sokka alone. Sokka gives an exaggerated yawn coupled with an over the top stretch. 

“Yeah, I’m beat too. I’m just gonna—”

“Sokka,” Katara cuts him off, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I meant what I said. I’m happy you found someone here but…” she trails off, biting her lip in concern. “Just be careful, alright? We’re going to be leaving Ba Sing Se soon…I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

Sokka feels a familiar knot of anxiety forming in his stomach. “Yeah,” he says, thinking about how he has to tell Zuko he’s leaving soon. “Yeah, I know.”

Sokka’s resolve is firm the next day. He’s going to tell Zuko he’s leaving soon, and that he doesn’t know when he’ll be back. He’s _going to do it._ This time, there’s no angst fevers standing in his way. 

By the time the day is done, Zuko will know that Sokka’s leaving. He’s going to tell him. 

Well, he was _planning_ on telling Zuko—he really really was. 

But when he approaches the tea shop the next day, he’s hardly in the doorway before Zuko’s running up to him, panic wild in his eyes. 

At the sight, Sokka’s mind immediately goes to all the worst possible scenarios. 

_“Sokka,”_ Zuko wheezes out, like he’s out of breath. 

“Z—Lee! Calm down,” Sokka says, grabbing Zuko’s shoulders. “What’s the matter--what’s wrong?”

“I need your help,” he says, and okay, Sokka’s seriously starting to panic. Did someone else figure out who Zuko and Uncle are? Are there stray Dai Li agents after them? 

He looks over Zuko’s shoulder to see if he can see anyone threatening, or any Earth Kingdom soldiers? But he doesn’t see anyone that alerts him to danger. Regardless, Zuko’s obviously in a panic over _something._

“What do you need?” Sokka asks him, seriously. 

Zuko swallows thickly and casts a nervous glance over his shoulder before looking directly at Sokka.

“I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend,” he says, with all the seriousness of a general leading an army to battle. 

_What?_

“What?” Sokka strangles out, and his voice does not crack, thank you very much. 

At Sokka reaction, however, Zuko looks even more desperate. “ _Please,”_ he all but begs. “There’s—there’s this group of girls who won’t leave me _alone_ and I may have told them I have a boyfriend.”

_“Really?”_

“Listen—I know this is awkward for you, but I just want them to leave me alone, and I couldn’t think of anything else. Normally Jin would help me out with this kind of thing, but she’s not here and—”

“I’ll do it,” Sokka agrees, suddenly, surprising them both. 

“Really?” Now it’s Zuko’s turn to ask. 

“Really,” Sokka says, deciding to lean into it. “I’m a _fantastic_ actor. Those girls won’t know what hit them.” 

Zuko rolls his eyes, but looks relieved. He opens his mouth to say something, but he’s cut off. 

_“Lee!_ ” a voice calls out. “My tea needs a refill.” 

Sokka looks into the restaurant and sees the source of the voice is coming from a group of girls sitting together at a table in the corner of the shop. Zuko grimaces and spares a glance at the girls, who dissolve into a fit of quiet giggles when he looks their way. 

“Come on, loverboy,” Sokka says, wrapping his arm around Zuko’s waist, “Let’s show them how it’s done.”

Zuko blushes at the nickname, and Sokka feels his chest puff out at that. 

As they approach the table, Sokka can see some of the girls—there are five of them—deflate when they see Sokka’s arm around Zuko’s waist. 

_Damn right._

“Hello ladies,” Sokka says with a wave of his free hand, pressing himself closer into Zuko’s side. “I heard you guys have been giving my boyfriend here a hard time.”

A few of the girls have the decency to look sheepish— _as they should,_ Sokka thinks—but there’s one on the far left—the one who called for Zuko across the shop— looks at Zuko and Sokka with narrow eyes. 

She gives Sokka a once over and looks thoroughly unimpressed. _Wow,_ Sokka thinks, he feels like he’s just stepped into a bad play or something. 

“So, the mysterious boyfriend finally appears,” the girl says. “Lee, can I get another refill on my tea please,” she says, ignoring Sokka and batting her eyes at the firebender. 

Sokka seriously wants to yartz at the whole spectacle. Zuko looks like he wants to crawl in a hole and stay there for the next hundred years. 

“Yes, I’ll get that right out,” Zuko grits out between clenched teeth. 

“Thanks Lee,” the girl says. “You _always_ make the best tea. Are you _absolutely sure_ you don’t want to do something after your shift is done?” 

Is this girl for real? “Um, hello,” Sokka says, waving his hand again. “I’m Sokka, Lee’s boyfriend. And I’m _right here!”_

“Akemi, cut it out,” one of the other girls hisses. The girl—Akemi—just rolls her eyes. She looks at Sokka and gives him a smirk that says _I know you’re faking it._

Zuko looks at Sokka out of the corner of his right eye. Sokka can practically _hear_ Zuko thinking ‘oh fuck.’ This girl isn’t buying it—she sees right through their act. Sokka has to step it up. 

So, he can’t be blamed for what he does next. Really, he’s just trying to sell the bit—he’s trying to help Zuko get these girls off his back. He does what anyone would’ve done in his position. 

He pulls Zuko in closer, cups his cheek with his free hand and pulls Zuko into a kiss. 

The girls at the table freeze. Zuko freezes. Sokka freezes, for a moment, when he feels Zuko go stalk still—but then the other boy leans into it—and Sokka feels something flutter in his chest. 

The kiss lasts longer than it probably needs, given the situation. Sokka finally breaks away when one of the girls coughs awkwardly. 

“Like I said,” Sokka tells the girls, trying not to sound as dazed as he feels, “Lee’s taken.”

“Okay,” Akemi huffs out. “Sorry, I get it.” 

“Good,” Sokka tells her. 

Zuko is still rooted where Sokka left him. Sokka nudges him with his elbow and he seems to startle out of the stance he was in. “Right, I’ll just—I’m gonna go back to work now.” 

And with that Zuko all but runs to the back of the shop. Sokka watches him go and he makes his way over to his own table. He sees the girls pay for their tea and file out of the shop. 

Then, everything catches up to him. 

He kissed _Zuko._

_On the mouth._

_In front of multiple people._

But more importantly, something else sticks out in his mind. 

_Zuko had kissed back._

With that, Sokka stands up and all but books it out of the shop.

* * *

Zuko’s mind is still racing that night when he goes to bed. He can’t stop thinking about Sokka kissing him.

Agni, _Sokka had kissed him_. That was a real thing that had happened. To _him._

Back in the shop, when it seemed like the girls weren’t buying their performance, Zuko had been ready to call it quits and just deal with the girls for the rest of his shift. He hadn’t expected Sokka to take the whole thing so seriously, and he _certainly_ hadn’t expected Sokka to kiss him. After the initial shock of _Sokka kissing him_ had worn off, Zuko had found himself leaning into the kiss. It had been incredibly different from kissing Jin—it had felt good—it was like everything just _clicked._

Then Zuko had run away to the back of the store and Sokka had sped out of the shop. 

Zuko groans quietly (Uncle is asleep across the room from him—thank _Agni_ he had been away that night, preparing for the opening of their new shop, so he didn’t see anything), and digs the balls of his hands into his eyes. 

Does Sokka like him back? Or was he just trying to sell it to those girls? 

Zuko’s honestly not sure. But he is positive about three things. He makes a mental list:

1.Sokka had kissed him.   
2.There’s absolutely no denying his feelings anymore, and   
3\. He’s going to tell Sokka how he feels. 

He feels a twist of resolve settle in—he’s going to do it— _tomorrow._ There’s no getting around it anymore and well, Zuko knows himself; if he doesn’t tell Sokka how he feels, he’s going to regret it. 

_Tomorrow,_ he thinks again, before turning onto his side and closing his eyes. 

Sokka’s fucked. Like, majorly, royally (ha) _fucked._

When he had returned early that night—breaking away from his usual pattern of hanging out with Zuko until the evening—Katara had seemed surprised. 

“You know,” she had said, “You still _can_ stay out late—we don’t mind—as long as it’s not all night.”

Sokka had stumbled through a lame excuse about still being tired from the night before, and went to his room. He needed to be alone because he was in crisis. 

He _kissed_ Zuko. 

His feelings earlier—while inconvenient—were something he could handle. 

But now? Now, everything felt so much more intense—and not to mention complicated. He was leaving soon and currently planning an invasion to take down the Fire Lord—Zuko’s father. 

Tui and La, what even was his life? 

Thinking about the kiss, though, Sokka can’t find it in himself to regret it—he’d do it again—in fact he’d very much like to do it again. 

He wonders if Zuko’s thinking about this too. He wonders if Zuko feels the same way he does.

Well, while Sokka _was_ the one to _initiate_ the kiss, he certainly wasn’t the only one _involved_ in the kiss. Zuko had definitely leaned into it, we had reciprocated. 

Sokka mulls that over and realizes that there is a chance that Zuko feels the same. With that realization, something akin to excitement—nervous, fluttering, excitement—blooms in Sokka’s chest. 

He knows he’s going to leave soon, he _knows_ there’s a good chance he won’t see Zuko for months but—

But, he has to talk about these feelings before he leaves. Really—he’s never been one to hide his attractions, and he’s not about to start now. 

But well, _thinking_ about confessing your feelings to your previous enemy-turned friend-turned crush is one thing. Actually doing it is a whole other beast to tackle in and of itself. 

Still, Sokka’s resolve is strong and once he’s put his mind to something, he’s going to see it through. 

It’s the next day and he’s standing in front of the tea shop—staring at the door as if it’ll give him the words he’s currently struggling to find. The door is stubbornly silent and unhelpful and after a moment or two Sokka gives his arms and hands a little shake—as if hyping himself up—and opens the door. 

_Here goes nothing._

Zuko’s head turns for the hundredth time that evening as he hears the door to the shop chim. He feels his heart leap into his throat when he sees familiar Water Tribe blues and tan skin. 

“Uncle,” he calls back, taking his apron off, “I’m taking my break early.” 

Without waiting for a reply, he goes over to Sokka, who looks uncharacteristically nervous. 

“Can we talk?” Zuko asks, and Sokka nods.

Zuko motions with his head for Sokka to follow him, and they head for the back of the tea shop—where he knows they won’t be disturbed or overheard. 

As they head around the building, Zuko’s struck by the memory of the last time the two of them were back there—quietly working out a deal that would change Zuko’s life for the better. 

It’s amazing, Zuko thinks to himself, how much a life can change in such a short amount of time. He shouldn’t be surprised about this revelation—his life has essentially been marked by sudden, dramatic changes. Lu Ten dying, his mother disappearing, his father banishing him, being on the run with Uncle. 

Running into Sokka in Ba Sing Se and getting to know him, properly. 

As they approach the back of the shop, Zuko turns to face Sokka. 

“Listen, about last night—”

“I have something I really need to tell you—”

They both stop, and Sokka laughs. 

“You go ahead,” he says. 

“No—no you go first,” Zuko tells him.

Sokka takes a deep breath. “I wanted to talk with you about last night.”

Zuko feels his heart speed up.

“Well, first, I want to apologize—”

_Oh no._

“I just,” Sokka continues, “I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable, doing—ah—doing _that.”_

Zuko suddenly wants to be swallowed up by the ground beneath his feet. Sokka, seeming not to notice his distress, keeping talking. 

“But, well, correct me if I’m wrong, you didn’t seem to hate it—uh, me kissing you, that is.”

Zuko blinks. Wait, what?

Sokka winces at his own words, but continues to stumble onward. “That came out wrong. What I mean to say is that I don’t regret kissing you—oh, that came out wrong too. I mean—”

Sokka’s floundering and suddenly Zuko feels like laughing. The previous tightness he’d had in his chest has dissipated; Zuko may not be the best at reading situations, but he’s fairly certain he has a solid grasp on what Sokka’s trying to say. 

“Sokka.”

“No, shit. You know, this was a lot easier in my head—”

“Sokka.” 

“What I’m _trying_ to say is—”

Zuko cuts him off by reaching forward, and pulling Sokka into another kiss. Both of his hands are holding Sokka’s head, and Zuko can feel the other teen stiffin, before relaxing, and returning the action. 

They stay like that for a moment, before Sokka pulls away, a dazed look and crooked grin on his face.

“That. That’s what I was trying to say.”

* * *

Things fall into place surprisingly easy afterwards. Their relationship doesn’t change much—they still spar, Sokka still teases Zuko, and they still generally just hang out. But, they’re closer—in more ways than one. There are more gentle touches and brushes between their hands. There are soft kisses that are easily exchanged as greetings or goodbyes. There’s a renewed sense of care between the two of them. This thing between them, it’s new, and it’s still fragile, but it’s something they’re both clinging to, tightly. 

Above all, it’s just...good. They’re both happy and content. 

But Sokka knows that, now more than ever, he has to tell Zuko he’s leaving Ba Sing Se, and that he doesn’t know when he’ll be back. 

It’s just hard to do that, especially because he just wants to spend as much time with Zuko as he can before he leaves. It’s killing him, knowing he’s going to leave so soon, but he knows he can’t avoid the subject forever. So, tonight he’s pulling out all the stops before he tells Zuko the truth. 

While they’ve firmly established that they’re _together,_ they haven’t really gone on a proper date. Seeing that as a problem, Sokka managed to snag two tickets to a play being put on in the theater in the Upper Ring. He remembers Jin telling him that Zuko’s a big theater fan ( _very_ sneaky Jin—he now sees what she was trying to do, and mentally notes that he has to thank her next time he sees her). 

He hasn’t told Zuko about the tickets yet, though. He’s hoping to surprise his boyfriend with them after he finishes his shift tonight. Since Zuko had told him he’s getting done early tonight, Sokka figured it’d be the perfect night to surprise him. 

Sokka approaches the little tea shop and he’s only waiting about a minute before he sees Zuko leave. When he sees Sokka, he smiles softly and walks over to him. He leans in and Sokka takes his arm, leading him away from the shop. 

Zuko lets the other teen lead him, but he throws Sokka a confused, but amused, look. “What’s the hurry? Where are you taking me?”

Sokka grins, and shrugs his shoulders like it’s nothing. “Well, you see, your awesome boyfriend got us two tickets to the theater tonight.”

Zuko stops for a moment, before turning to Sokka. “You did?”

Sokka grins, reaches into his pocket and fans the two tickets out. “Would I lie to you?”

Zuko, for his part, stares at the tickets, his face alight with excitement. Sokka feels his heart soar, he’s happy the surprise is going over well. He says nothing as Zuko gingerly takes a ticket, holding it like it’s something precious. 

“I haven’t been to the theater since—well,” he stops, and a bittersweet smile graces his face. “In a long time.”

They haven’t been dating long—they haven’t even been friends for that long, in the grand scheme of things—but Zuko always acts so surprised at any of Sokka’s acts of kindness for him. It’s both extremely endearing and a bit heartbreaking. 

“What, no thank you?” Sokka teases, and Zuko rolls his eyes.

_“Thank you,_ Sokka,” he says, smiling despite the tone. 

Sokka raises his eyebrows, as if to say, _that’s all?_

“You’re insufferable,” Zuko mutters.

“But you love it,” Sokka says, and smiles into the kiss Zuko leans in to give him.

_“Holy shit!”_

The voice causes them to both jump apart in surprise. Sokka feels his stomach drop because he knows that voice. 

“Your secret boyfriend is _Sparky?”_

_Here we go,_ Sokka thinks. 

“Who’s there?” Zuko scrangles out, and from behind them steps out Toph, who’s smiling so widely it’s like she was just told she won the Ba Sing Se lottery. 

“Toph, meet Zuko. Zuko, meet Toph,” Sokka says, because he’s not sure what else to do. 

Zuko looks between the tiny earthbender and Sokka, who just shrugs. Looking back towards Toph, Zuko raises a timid hand. “Hello?” He tries. 

Toph gives him another toothy smile. “I can’t believe you’ve been blowing us off for weeks for _this guy.”_

Sokka ignores Zuko’s quiet _‘excuse me’_ and sighs, turning to Toph. “What are you even doing here, Toph? Did you follow me?” 

“Uh, duh,” Toph says, flopping down into a nearby bench. 

_“Why?”_

“Well, for one, I knew you were lying about _something._ Did you forget I can literally detect lies?” Toph tells him, bringing her legs up to sit cross legged. Yeah ok, Sokka kind of had that one coming. He’s not the best liar to begin with—he’s honestly surprised Toph’s the only one who’s caught on. 

“And two, those other two might be okay letting you have your mysterious romance, but I’m nosy as hell and wanted to see who you’ve been sneaking off to meet.” 

“Okay! Well, you’ve met him,” Sokka says, helping Toph up to her feet. “You can leave now. Oh, and please don’t tell Katara or Aang.”

“Hey!” She says when she’s shuffled up to her feet. “Not a chance, Snoozles. Wasn’t this guy, like, chasing you around the world a few months ago? I still have some questions.”

_“This guy_ is right here, you know,” Zuko says, a bit irritably. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Toph says, waving her hand in Zuko’s direction, unconcerned. “But I didn’t ask you, did I?”

Zuko narrows his eyes, opens his mouth, and then closes it again. 

She has a point. 

Sokka resists the urge to groan. “Yeah, but _obviously_ he’s changed now. He’s, uh, good?” Sokka tries, and he ignores Zuko’s small groan besides him.

Toph just raises an eyebrow and cocks her head. She turns to Zuko. “Hey Sparky,” she says, “are you planning on hurting Sokka?” 

“What? Of course not,” the firebender sputters. 

“What about the rest of us? Do you have any plans to hurt us?” 

Zuko takes a deep, controlled breath. “My uncle and I are here as refugees, hiding from my sister. We just want to live our lives in peace in Ba Sing Se,” he says. Then, as an afterthought, “So, ah, no.” 

Toph considers his words for a moment, and then nods. “You’re being truthful. Okay,” she says, shrugging. “If Sokka trusts you, that’s good enough for me.” 

“I’m glad I have your approval,” Zuko mutters, a bit sarcastically. 

Sokka looks between the two and he shakes his head. “Okay, if the introductions are done, Zuko and I have a play to go see.”

Toph frowns. “But I just got here and—oh hey, wait!” she says suddenly. “You said you’re here with your uncle?”

“Um, yes?” Zuko answers. 

“Is he around?” 

“What—Why do you want to know?” Zuko asks. 

“He makes the _best_ tea,” Toph emphasises.

Zuko looks at Toph for a moment, stunned. _“You_ know Uncle?”

“Yeah,” Toph says, like that isn’t surprising as shit. “We met a while ago. He made me some tea and gave me advice.”

Zuko considers that information, and then nods. “Yeah, that sounds like Uncle.”

“Is he around?” Toph asks, leaning forward eagerly. “I’d love to say hi.”

“Uh, yeah,” Zuko says, still looking unsure. “He’s back in the shop. It closes in about an hour, but if you head in now, you’ll definitely see him.”

“Sweet!” Toph says, moving past Sokka and Zuko. “I’m going to go say hi. Don’t wait up for me and have fun being mushy and gross together.

“We won’t,” Sokka says and then, “Hey! I’m not _mushy.”_

Toph turns around and makes a gagging sound, pointing her finger at her mouth. “Sure you aren’t!” She calls, as she heads towards the shop.

Once she turns the corner, Zuko and Sokka exchange looks. 

“That was…” Zuko says, and trails off. 

“Weird?” Sokka prompts, taking Zuko’s hand, and starting their walk back towards the Upper Ring. 

“I was going to say unexpected, but weird works too,” Zuko says dryly. Sokka laughs at that, and the two of them continue towards the theater, hand in hand. 

The play ends up being entertaining as hell, and it’s one that Zuko seems familiar with. Sokka’s happy to see that Zuko enjoys himself, and gladly listens as the firebender goes on about what the cast did right, and what they did wrong, and how they carried out certain themes well that are woven through the play. 

Before he knows it, their night is coming to an end, and they’ve made their way back to Zuko’s apartment in the Lower Ring. 

In an attempt to draw their time out longer, they sit on a bench that’s located across the building where Zuko lives. They idly chat about this and that before Zuko tilts his head. 

“Oh!” Zuko says, his eyes widening as he remembers. “I forgot to mention this, given everything that’s happened,” he makes a vague gesture with his hands.

“Mention what?” Sokka asks. 

“Uncle is opening—well, I guess we both are—opening a new tea shop. In the Upper Ring,” he says. “Uncle, he’s really excited about it,” Zuko says, a soft smile on his face. 

“Zuko!” Sokka says, sitting up, “That’s amazing! If anyone deserves their own tea shop, it’s your uncle,” he says, thinking of all the amazing cups he’s had since arriving in Ba Sing Se.

“Yeah,” Zuko says, looking out at the street, that small smile still on his face. “He really does. I’m happy for him.”

“Me too,” Sokka says, and then he closes in on Zuko, putting his weight into his side. “I’m happy for you both. You deserve it.” 

Zuko turns back to look at Sokka, a funny look on his face. For a moment, Sokka thinks he’s going to argue with Sokka—that he’s going to deflect the compliment like he so often does—but instead he cups Sokka’s cheek and gives him a quick kiss. 

“Thanks,” he says. Then he leans his head against Sokka’s. “Anyway,” he says, “I was wondering if you would come to the grand opening. It would mean a lot to Uncle—and me,” he adds. 

“Dude, of _course_ I’ll go!” Sokka says, and Zuko snorts, Sokka assuming it’s at his use of the word dude. “When is it?” 

“In about ten days,” Zuko says easily, and Sokka feels a pit in his gut. 

“Ten days?” He asks. 

“Yeah?” Zuko says. “What, are you fully booked that day?”

Sokka leans away from Zuko, and the firebender looks at him, eyebrow furrowed. 

Sokka looks down at his lap and takes a deep breath. How could he forget the one thing he set out to do tonight?

“There’s something I have to tell you too,” he says, seriously. 

“Sokka?” Zuko asks, looking concerned. 

“I’ve been putting off telling you. I’m leaving Ba Sing Se. Soon,” he says, finally putting the words out there. 

Sokka chances a glance up to gauge his reaction, but Zuko’s expression is closed off.

“When?” Is all the other teen asks, his voice carefully neutral. 

Sokka sighs again. “In about a week.”

“A week,” Zuko repeats, as if mulling the words over in his mouth. 

“Yeah. Listen, I—I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. I didn’t want to...I didn’t want to ruin this,” he gestures between them. “I didn’t want you to think I was leaving you, I just,” a deep breath. “I guess I just didn’t want to tell you.”

“Why are you leaving?” Zuko asks. He doesn’t comment on Sokka’s speech.

“It’s my dad,” Sokka says, and Zuko turns to look at him. “I know where he is—where the rest of the men of my tribe are. They’re close by, and planning on leaving soon.”

Zuko continues to look at Sokka, before he sits back again, and this time it’s Zuko who’s leaning into Sokka. 

“Okay,” is all he says. “Do you know when you’ll be back?”

Sokka bites his lip, but feels his body instinctively relax into Zuko’s. “I’m honestly not sure. If everything I have planned works out, it’ll be no more than two months.”

He feels Zuko stiffen at those words, and Sokka knows that Zuko knows what he’s alluding to. The day of black sun is in two months. The day where Firebenders lose their bending—the perfect time to plan an attack on the Fire Nation. He may not know specifics, but Sokka’s sure he’s connecting the dots. 

Sokka’s a little afraid of what Zuko’s next reaction will be, but after a moment, the other teen relaxes again. He takes Sokka’s hand and says, “I hope your plan works.”

Sokka laughs—it bursts out of his throat, catching him by surprise. “So do I,” he says. Then, “Listen, I really am sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. But—”

“Sokka, it’s okay. I get it,” Zuko says.

“You do?”

“Yeah,” he replies along with a gentle shrug. “It’s your dad, Sokka. You gotta go, he’s your father.”

“Yeah,” Sokka says, suddenly struck with a vague deja vu. “He’s my father.”

They sit there, before Zuko speaks again.

“Thank you,” Zuko says, “for telling me.”

Sokka jerks his head back and looks at Zuko. “Zuko, of course I’d tell you before leaving.”

Zuko looks almost embarrassed now but he squeezes Sokka’s hand. “I know I just—thank you. For everything.”

Sokka squeezes his hand back before he untangles it and wraps it around Zuko’s waist, pulling the firebender closer. “Don’t think anything of it. And you better believe I’m coming back here for you as soon as I can. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

Zuko snorts, but Sokka can tell there’s a flash of relief in his eyes at Sokka’s words. “I would expect nothing less from you.”

Things are more or less normal after that. Toph knowing about their relationship doesn’t change much—she promises not to tell Katara and Aang. However, she does start frequenting the tea shop (she _says_ it’s because Uncle makes the best tea, but Zuko suspects it’s also because she likes hanging around Sokka—the younger girl seems to look up to him, even if neither Toph or Sokka would admit it). 

Zuko soon discovers that Toph loves to tease people, and she will make fun of anyone and everyone—including Zuko himself. It was a little off putting the first few times Toph made jabs at him, but he quickly came to realize that, coming from Toph, it’s almost a compliment. 

Toph also comes to take an interest in Zuko’s past and claims that only Zuko, being a (former) prince, truly understands the disdain she holds for high society. Her other friends, coming from monasteries and rural villages, just don’t _get it._ Before he knows it, Zuko finds himself growing rather fond of the tiny earthbender. 

So, Zuko doesn’t really mind that Toph starts hanging around; he likes the small earthbender—she’s funny and fierce and there’s a spark in her that reminds him of Azula, when she was really little, before things in their family really deteriorated. 

She’s also extremely blunt—another quality she shares with Azula. 

Zuko doesn’t really mind it, but Toph’s bluntness rears its head one day, while the shop is slow. Sokka’s run out to the market to grab some supplies for his upcoming trip, and Uncle is in the back of the shop, organizing teas while the flow of customers is slow. 

Toph is sitting at the table near the front counter, her feet propped up on the table top. 

“That’s pretty unsanitary,” Zuko tells her, while wiping down the counter in front of him.

“Eh,” Toph says, picking at her teeth. “My feet are clean, don’t worry about it.”

Zuko raises his eyebrow. “I can see the dirt on them from here,” he tells her.

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re here to clean the tables, isn’t it?” Toph says, turning in his general direction to give him a cheeky grin. 

Zuko rolls his eyes, but doesn’t bother trying to get her to move. He’s only known Toph a short while, but he’s already learning that, usually, picking an argument with Toph isn’t worth it. 

There’s a lull in their conversation when a customer comes in and Zuko takes her order. But once he returns to the counter, wiping it down once again, Toph speaks back up. 

“So,” she says, “the others tell me you have a scar on your face. Is that true?”

Zuko freezes—the rag in his hand sits still on the counter top—but just for a moment. He inhales quickly, and continues his task. 

“Yeah,” he says as neutrally as he can. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I can’t _see it,_ so I’m just curious about it,” Toph says with a shrug. “They’ve mentioned it before, but just that you have a scar. And that you used to have a hideous ponytail.”

Zuko feels a little indignant. “Hey,” he says, “it wasn’t _that bad.”_

Toph snorts. “I don’t even need to use my feet to tell that you’re lying right now.”

Zuko shakes his head, but doesn’t retaliate. Okay, maybe the ponytail wasn’t his best look, but he had other things on his mind during that time. 

“Fair enough,” he says simply. Then, “But, uh, yeah. I have a scar over the right side of my face; it goes from my eye to my ear. It’s pretty big—it’s a burn.”

“Huh,” Toph says, frowning. “I thought firebenders were burn resistant?”

Zuko gives a sarcastic laugh. “We are.”

Toph’s frown deepens at his response, and it looks like she’s thinking about something. Whatever it is, she doesn’t choose to comment on it. 

Instead she asks, “It’s over one of your eyes?”

“Yeah,” Zuko says with a shrug, before remembering that Toph can’t see that. “I can’t see out of that eye anymore.”

When he says that, Toph sits up quickly, her feet slamming to the floor. The one other customer in the shop—the lady from before—glances their direction and gives Toph a _look._ Fortunately for her, Toph can’t see her do that, and continues to focus on Zuko. 

“Sparky!” She says, “You’re half blind?”

“Uh,” Zuko replies, uncertain. “Yes?”

“Dude, why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

“Why would I?” Zuko asks, genuinely confused. 

_“Hello._ You’re blind, _I’m blind!”_ She says, gesturing between them. “This is, like, a bonding moment for us.”

Zuko blinks at Toph. “Huh,” he says. “I guess we do have that in common. I just didn’t think about it, I guess. It’s not something I typically talk about.”

Talking about his scar in general is usually difficult for him. Zuko doesn’t like acknowledging it, or how he got it. Though, he’s gotten better about talking about his scar, he doesn’t think it’ll be a topic he’s ever one hundred percent comfortable talking about. 

“You should do what I do,” Toph says, leaning back again, crossing her arms. “I talk about being blind all the time, but I mostly use it to make fun of other people.”

Zuko snorts at that. _Of course_ that’s something Toph would do. Regardless, he lifts his eyebrow at her. “Oh really?” He asks. 

“For sure! Just the other week, Sokka was trying to draw a picture of Appa and I told him I thought it looked very realistic,” she snickers at the memory. “I’ve pulled that trick on him so many times, but he always falls for it.”

Zuko does laugh at that—abet, quietly. He also feels a small swirl of fondness go through him as he imagines Sokka’s reaction. 

“Please,” he says, hanging the rag he was using up to dry. “Tell me more.”

Toph grins and launches into another story. Zuko feels himself smiling back at her, and he thinks about how, once again, his small community in Ba Sing Se has grown to include yet another person. He thinks about how easily Toph, like Sokka and Jin, slid into his life here. He thinks about how he’ll tease Sokka about these stories later, and how Uncle will laugh when he tells him them as well. 

Mostly, though, he thinks about how _content_ he feels in this moment. 

If life has been full of ups and downs, but right now, against all odds, Zuko is content. He’s _happy._

* * *

Life continues on—time continues to march ahead, and the date of Sokka’s departure grows nearer and nearer. 

They don’t really talk about it much—in fact they dance around the topic. It’s not mentioned, but it hangs in the air around them—it buzzes in the back of Zuko’s mind like an insistent fly. 

But, for the most part, they’re okay. 

Mostly, they enjoy the time they have left with each other—letting their new relationship slowly grow. They mostly relax, spar and go for walks—just generally appreciating each other’s companies while they still can. 

However, Zuko starts to notice a subtle change in Sokka’s behavior the closer he gets to leaving. He seems more anxious, like his mind is somewhere else. Zuko’s not sure what’s causing it—perhaps he’s nervous to see his father again, or maybe he’s just anxious about leaving Ba Sing Se in general. 

Whatever the issue is, it comes to a head two days before Sokka’s due to leave. They’re not really doing anything, just walking around the dreary streets, making idle conversation about their days. Sokka had suggested they sparr again, but Zuko’s too tired from work, so they settled on a more relaxed night out, which is fine with both of them. But, Zuko can tell Sokka’s only half paying attention to their conversations. His normal chatter and hand movements are missing, and Zuko finds himself unable to stand it any longer. 

“What’s wrong?” Zuko asks him, finally, interrupting the flow of their conversation. 

Sokka blinks, as if coming back to himself, and looks at Zuko, his eyebrows furrowed. 

“Whatta mean?” He asks, obviously trying to play dumb. Zuko isn’t having any of it. 

“You just seem, I don’t know,” Zuko says, looking upwards, trying to find the right word. “Off? Anxious?”

“Is it that obvious?” Sokka says, trying and failing to smile it off. 

“Yeah,” Zuko deadpans back, and Sokka chews on his lip for a moment before he looks away. 

“I’m excited to see my dad, but I’m also nervous because this is—” he stops, and considers his next words. “This is my chance to finally _prove_ myself, you know? And I don’t want to mess that up.”

“Sokka,” Zuko says seriously. “Why would you think that? Of course you’re not going to mess this up—I’ve never met your father, but I’m sure he’s proud of you and will be excited to see you again. You’re not going to mess _anything_ up.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sokka says, waving his hand. “But it’s more than that. I’m not like Katara—or Toph or Aang—or you. I don’t have bending or special abilities; I’m the guy who’s normal. I just...” he trails off for a moment. “I just want to show that I can be useful too, you know?”

Zuko’s taken back by Sokka’s words. _Is that what he really thinks?_

“Sokka,” Zuko says slowly, trying to wrap his head around what Sokka’s saying about himself. “What the fuck are you even talking about?”

Sokka glares at him. “Okay, _rude._ What I mean is—”

Zuko cuts him off. “You’re _amazing._ How do you not _know that?_ Sokka, I’ve been training you on the sword for only a short amount of time, but you’ll easily be better than me someday—you’ve picked up on it incredibly fast. Not to mention you’re amazing at planning out strategy and you’re one of the smartest people I know, and just,” Zuko trails off for a moment. “You’re incredible. Do you not realize that?”

Zuko can’t imagine how _anyone_ wouldn’t see how amazing Sokka is, but judging by the look on his face, Sokka himself doesn’t seem to realize it. 

Zuko’s constantly amazed at the other boy. Sokka’s, like, _insanely_ smart. He’s surprisingly well versed in literature, especially poetry, and his mind can do mathematics that leaves Zuko’s head spinning. 

Recently, Sokka went over plans for an invention he had come up with on his own, something he called a submarine. Most of the mechanics of it went over Zuko’s head, but Sokka had really thought of _everything_ for it—Zuko was amazed that he had the imagination to even think of it, let alone the intellect to figure out how to make it _work._

And, okay, maybe Zuko’s biased. But, Sokka’s truly one of the best people in Zuko’s life. Sokka was willing to give Zuko a chance—even if he didn’t deserve it—where most wouldn’t have. Not only that, but Sokka had then managed to worm his way under Zuko’s skin and into his life and honestly, Zuko is so _grateful_ for it; he’s the happiest he’s been in years, and Sokka’s huge reason for it. He’s been supportive and understanding; he’s been caring and giving in ways that Zuko’s not used to. 

And even though they’re in a relationship, Sokka’s given Zuko something he’s never truly had before. 

A friend. 

Someone who made him feel good, who made him laugh—who made him _happy._

Sokka, for his part, looks stunned at his declaration. He just looks at Zuko, before bringing his hands up to rub his eyes. “Tui and La, I’m going to miss you so fucking much, dude,” Sokka says, with a watery laugh. 

Zuko rolls his eyes, and pulls Sokka towards him. He knows Sokka’s deflecting, but he’ll let him change the subject if he wants. “We’re dating and yet you still call me dude,” he says dryly, and Sokka laughs again. 

“Okay, I hear you. I’m going to miss you so much _sweetie,”_ he says, with a small grin. 

Zuko groans, but feels his cheeks heat up all the same. “Nevermind, forget I mentioned it.”

“No, no, no,” Sokka says, sitting up to look at Zuko better. “If I had known you wanted cute nicknames, I would have started using them sooner, _honeypie.”_

“You’re the worst,” Zuko says, giving Sokka a shove. 

“Aw, sweetpea, don’t say that!”

“I take it back,” Zuko deadpans, “I actually can’t wait for you to leave.”

“You wound me,” Sokka says, but he relents and leans back into Zuko’s embrace. 

“I really am going to miss you,” Sokka says. “Like, a lot.”

“Me too.”

* * *

The night before Sokka leaves, he visits Zuko one last time. They’re holded up in Zuko’s little apartment, as there’s a torrential downpour outside. 

They mostly drink tea and talk about nothing and everything, avoiding what they both know is to come. 

When it reaches that point in the night, however, Sokka stands up and Zuko follows suit. 

“Just,” Zuko tells him. “Just, be careful, alright?”

“Are you kidding me? I’m always careful,” Sokka says. 

“You once told me you got two fishhooks stuck in your thumb,” Zuko says, raising his eyebrow. 

Sokka scoffs. “That was different and you know it.” Then, “But, I will be. Don’t worry. You make sure to stay out of trouble here. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“You better be,” Zuko says. “Or else I’ll come track you down myself. I have plenty of practice at that,” he says, smiling ruefully. 

Sokka laughs. “I wouldn’t put it past you.” 

They look at each other in silence for a moment before Sokka leans in to give Zuko a kiss. 

“I promise,” he says, smiling, “Back before you know it.”

Zuko gives him a dorky half smile, and Sokka feels his heart flutter. “Yeah. I know you will.”

Sokka moves away and opens the door but then stops when Zuko calls out to him. 

“Wait! Wait, I can’t believe I almost forgot,” Zuko says, running into his small kitchen. When he returns, he’s carrying a small woven basket with a top on it. 

“Here,” he says, handing it to Sokka. “This is for you. In case you get hungry while you travel.”

Sokka opens the lid and sees eight dumplings, lined up in two rows of four. “Did you make these for me?” Sokka asks. 

Zuko looks to the side, bringing his arm up behind his head. “I used to make them as a kid, with my mom. They’re pretty easy to make, and I made sure to tone down the spiciness for you.”

Sokka feels his throat go tight for a moment. “Thank you, Zuko.”

“Yeah,” Zuko says, and then he takes Sokka’s free hand and squeezes it. “I’ll see you soon.”

Sokka leans in for one last kiss. 

“See you soon.” 

And then he’s gone.

* * *

Zuko feels Sokka’s absence almost immediately. He has a hard time with it, which he doesn’t want to admit. Uncle keeps throwing him sympathetic glances, which he hates, but he’s working through it. Mostly, he fills his time with either work or hanging out with Jin. 

It’s hard, but he’s managing. Thankfully, it’s easy to take his mind off of things with all the preparations that need to be done for Uncle’s new tea shop. The grand opening is already _tomorrow,_ and Zuko can hardly believe it. 

And though Sokka can’t make it, Zuko still has a friend coming to the grand opening of the Jasmine Dragon. 

(He’d rolled his eyes—just a little—at the name Uncle had picked out for the shop. It wasn’t the most _subtle_ business name for two people from the Fire Nation, pretending not to be firebenders. But, no one had batted an eye, so the name stayed). 

Jin’s absolutely _ecstatic_ to come to the grand opening. When Zuko had first told her about the new shop, she had jumped up and down and given both Zuko and Uncle huge hugs in congratulations. 

Now, the night before the grand opening, Zuko’s heading towards Jin’s apartment to meet his friend. The two had plans to do some late night shopping together; Zuko’s picking up some last minute items for their new shop, and Jin’s running errands for her family. 

As he’s walking over, Zuko feels a dull ache in his chest when he realizes Jin will no longer be a five minute walk away. After tomorrow, he and Uncle will be living in a newer apartment in the Upper Ring. 

Zuko shoves his hands in his pockets and bites at the inside of his cheek—a bad nervous habit he’d picked up as a child—as he thinks about how, once again, his life is about to change so quickly. Not too long ago, he and his uncle were new arrivals in Ba Sing Se, trying to figure how to survive in such a new, congested city, after years at sea. 

Not too long ago, Zuko was dead set on going back to the Fire Nation; his destiny was to capture the Avatar, and bring him to his father. 

Now…

Now, he’s not so sure about his path in life. If anyone had told him a year ago that he’d be living, disguised as an Earth Kingdom peasant, as a _refugee,_ he would have laughed in their face. 

If anyone would have told him he’d be _happy_ to do so, he would have thought them insane. 

But—and he would _never_ admit it out loud—he’s going to miss the apartment he and Uncle live in after they officially move into the Upper Ring. He’s found that he’s coming to think of Ba Sing Se and the dingy little apartment as home.

If anyone were to ask him where his true home was, he’d still want to say the Fire Nation. And honestly, the Fire Nation will always be home to him in some form or another—it was where he grew up, where he was born. It was where he was first happy, with his mother, and for a time, with his sister. 

But now he knows that home can be many places. Ba Sing Se, as strange as it is to say, is _home._ His old ship—the _Wani_ —was home even, at one point. As much as Zuko was loath to be stuck on a naval ship for almost three years, he still finds himself missing the sharp tang of ocean salt, and the rolling sounds of waves that always permeated the air of the ship. 

So, perhaps the Fire Nation will always be home for him, but maybe so will Ba Sing Se. 

Though, Zuko thinks bitterly, if the residents of this city knew who he was, that probably wouldn’t be the case. 

He shakes these thoughts free as he heads towards where Jin’s waiting outside her apartment for him. 

She smiles and waves him over and they head off together. 

“So,” Jin says later, nudging Zuko with her shoulder as they walk, arm in arm, through the dimly lit Lower Ring market. “Are you excited to move? Soon you’re going to be a big-shot rich boy.”

Zuko rolls his eyes. “Yeah, but I’ll still be working in a tea shop.”

“Hey now!” Jin teases. “Working in a tea shop led to us meeting, so it can’t be all bad. Besides,” she continues, “a tea shop in the _Upper Ring_ is very different from a tea shop in the Lower Ring.” Which, yeah, Zuko will give her that.

“Oh!” She says, clapping her hands together. “I’m so excited to go to the grand opening. I hardly get to leave the Lower Ring. I have the cutest outfit picked out, just wait til you see it,” Jin grins, and despite himself, Zuko smiles back at her; her enthusiasm for their new shop is almost infectious. 

Jin grabs Zuko’s arm again, and leans her head against him as they continue to walk. They’ve gathered most of the supplies that they needed, and they’re walking around, just enjoying the night. 

“I’m also excited to see Sokka again,” she says. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen him around.”

Zuko sighs at the mention of Sokka. “He’s not going to be there,” he tells Jin. At his words, Jin yanks her head back and looks up at Zuko. 

“What?” She asks. “What do you mean he’s not going to be there?”

Zuko blinks at Jin, confused at the sudden shift in her mood. “He’s not able to make it?” Zuko tries. “He’s not going to be at the grand opening.”

Jin narrows her eyes. “So, you’re telling me that Sokka has better things to do tomorrow than attending the grand opening of his boyfriend’s new tea shop?” She says, her tone accusatory. 

Ah. Zuko sees where Jin is going with this, and while he’s touched by her conviction, her seriousness makes him laugh a little. 

“Yeah, actually, he does,” Zuko says with a huff of a laugh. 

“Hey!” Jin says, smacking Zuko’s arm lightly. “Don’t laugh at me! I’m being serious, I’m defending your honor here.” 

And _that_ makes Zuko actually laugh. Jin gives him a look, but lets him finish and waits for him to speak again. 

“Jin,” he says, still smiling, “I appreciate it, I do, but he’s not even in Ba Sing Se right now. He’s visiting his _father._ So, yeah, he does have better things to do than attending the opening of my Uncle’s tea shop.”

Jin’s eyes soften, and she lets out a soft _“Oh.”_ Then she says, “Well, I guess that is a good excuse.”

Zuko shakes his head at her, and Jin smiles at him. 

“Why do you care so much anyway?” Zuko asks after a moment, and Jin looks at him with thinly veiled disbelief. 

“Because I care about _you,_ dummy. I know this new shop means a lot to you and your uncle, and that you care for Sokka a lot. If it were _me,_ I’d sure as hell expect my boyfriend to be attending. I’ve said it before but, you’re my friend. I just want to see you happy,” she says, earnestly. 

All Zuko can do is stare at her for a moment, before he looks away. He’s come to really care about Jin. He treasures their time together, but he cannot, for the life of him, figure out what she sees in him. Zuko knows, deep down, that if she knew who he was—who he really was—she probably wouldn’t want to still be friends with him—probably wouldn’t want anything to do with him. 

He doesn’t deserve her friendship, he thinks, and the thought tastes bitter in his mouth. She’s been so supportive and kind to him, and Zuko’s been feeding her half lies about his life. 

“I don’t deserve you,” he says, guilt gnawing away at his insides. Jin furrows her eyebrows and opens her mouth to speak, but Zuko cuts her off. “Jin, I—there’s something I should tell you. You’ve been so supportive of me and I’ve…” he fidgets with his hands, and looks away from her. “I’ve been lying to you since we’ve met.”

“Lee—”

“My uncle and I, we’re not who we say we are. You deserve to know the truth, but it’s—it’s complicated—”

“Lee!” She tries again, and this time Zuko stops and looks at her. Jin’s eyes are soft and understanding. 

“I know,” she says gently. 

Zuko blinks at her. “What?” He says, eloquently. 

Jin laughs softly at him and cocks her head to the side. “I know you’re a firebender, and that you’re probably not from the Earth Kingdom.”

“I—what? You do?” Zuko asks, trying to squash his surprise down. “How?”

Jin raises an eyebrow at him. “Honestly? It’s not that difficult to figure out but, Lee,” she says in an exasperated yet fond voice. _“The fountain lights.”_

_Oh._

“That pretty much gave me away, huh?” He says, sheepishly. 

Jin full on laughs at him again. “Well, it sure wasn’t _subtle._ You also have classic Fire Nation eyes and, honestly, you’re a terrible liar; your juggling could use some work.”

And at that, Zuko laughs softly with her. In retrospect, it _was_ fairly obvious he was a firebender, especially from Jin’s point of view. But there’s still something that’s bothering him.

“Why did you come back to the tea shop then?” He asks.

“What do you mean?” 

“Why,” Zuko struggles to find the right words. “Why did you come back after our date if you knew I was from the Fire Nation?”

Jin shrugs causally at that. “You aren’t the only firebenders here, hiding from your nation. It’s the unspoken secret of the Lower Ring. All of us have been hurt by the Fire Nation and we’re all just trying to live our lives, why would you be any different?”

They both pause at that, then Jin sighs and looks away. 

“But, there is another reason,” she says, her normally cheery voice, tinged with sorrow. “You remind me of my older brother.”

Zuko feels his eyes widen. “You have an older brother?” He asks. Jin has talked about her family plenty of times. Zuko knows she has two parents and that she has two younger siblings—twins, a brother and sister. But she’s never mentioned an older brother, Zuko has always assumed she was the oldest. 

Jin turns to him, a sad smile on her face. “Had. He died two years ago, fighting in the war. There’s no big story with it; he enlisted and six months later we got a letter, telling us he died in combat. It,” she stops, and Zuko thinks he can see something shine in her eyes as she blinks rapidly. “It was hard, regardless. I really looked up to him—I still do, I guess. He was a little stiff and awkward—like you,” she teases gently, “but he was always there for me growing up—my protector and role model. When he left, it was so strange. Our house suddenly felt so _empty_ without him. Everyday, I used to think to myself, _he’s going to come back. Someday, he’ll walk back in through that door, and our family will be complete again._ But he didn’t and he never will,” she says. 

Jin leans back on Zuko’s arms, and keeps her face forward. “So, I think that’s why I was drawn to you. You were familiar, in a weird way,” she says, her voice soft. “Sorry if that was a lot,” Jin continues. “I didn’t mean to, just, unload on you like that.”

“No it’s—it’s fine,” Zuko says. His throat feels strangely tight, but he leans into Jin’s touch. “Thank you for telling me. I’m—I’m sorry he died.”

“Yeah,” Jin says. “Me too.” And then, “I’m also glad you told me about—you know—being a firebender. Even though I already had you figured out,” she says with a small smile. 

“Do you, do you want to know about who I was...before?” Zuko asks tentatively. 

“Do you want to tell me?” Jin asks, and honestly? Zuko _doesn’t._ He likes being Lee, he likes that Jin only _knows_ him as Lee, the tea server. Besides, he might complicate her life by shouldering her with a secret like that. He is— _was_ —the fucking prince of the Fire Nation. Just knowing that could put Jin in danger, even within the secure walls of Ba Sing Se. 

Zuko shakes his head. 

“You don’t have to tell me about it then,” Jin says simply. “You don’t have to be anyone besides Lee with me—just Lee, if that’s who you want to be.”

Zuko feels his mouth quirk up on one side. “Just Lee, huh?”

“Just Lee,” Jin nods firmly. “And I’m just Jin. And tomorrow, we’re going to go to your uncle’s grand opening and I’m going to embarrass you in front of all your new snobby customers.”

Zuko laughs at that and so does Jin. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Zuko and Uncle end up having more customers than they’re used to, the next day, but it’s nothing they can’t handle. True to her word, Jin shows up and teases Zuko as he runs from table to table, but having her there helps him relax amidst all the chaos. 

All in all, Zuko thinks it’s truly one of the happier days of his life. Uncle is grinning the entire day, they’ve officially moved into their new— _bigger_ —apartment, and Jin is there, telling all the new customers how wonderful Uncle’s tea is. 

It’s almost perfect, but Zuko still feels a nagging in his stomach when he thinks of Sokka. He really is happy that Sokka’s going to see his father after so long, and he's thankful that they got to say goodbye. But he still feels his absence, especially when the day begins to wind down, and the shadows grow longer in the sky. 

He keeps half expecting the other teen to come through the doors, cracking jokes, and give Zuko a kiss on the cheek. 

Zuko knows he’s got it bad, especially because he could have _sworn_ he saw those ever familiar Water Tribe blues flash in the entrance of the shop. But when he had double checked, there was nobody there. 

Still, the day is good and enjoyable in a way that Zuko’s still not quite used to, and it only continues to go up. That evening, Uncle receives a letter informing him that the Earth King has invited them both to the palace to serve tea. 

Zuko’s stomach still pangs when he thinks of how all he wants to do is share this moment with Sokka, but he feels a smile naturally slide onto his face when he sees his Uncle’s excitement. 

Whatever happens, he knows he’ll have quite the story for Sokka when he returns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, looking at jin: what if it was that deep  
> atla: its not that deep  
> Me, giving her a tragic backstory: but what if it was????? 
> 
> Also  
> Sokka: :( im just the regular guy  
> Zuko, who thinks sokka is the coolest person on earth: excuse me bitch??? 
> 
> Ahh sorry this took a hot sec to get out! I truly have been swamped with work (im working basically 70 hours each week...) but I just went camping and that gave me some time to rest up and finally finish this chapter! Phew was this one hard to write!! Honestly, it took a long time for this to turn into something I even liked. There are still parts that I’m not 100% happy with, but I couldn’t look at it anymore haha. I’m just happy I got it all out. 
> 
> Also I could’t resist adding in toph and zuko content....anyone who’s read my fic ‘something about grace’ knows i ADORE those two together. 
> 
> I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter though! I was super excited to write the kissing scene, it was one of the first scenes I thought of when thinking of this fic. But I’m really /really/ excited for the last chapter. I have some IDEAS that i’ve been writing in my head since I first thought of this fic, so buckle up!! Only one chapter left ♥️ It should be out sooner bc unfortunately I was exposed to a COVID case so I have to self quarantine. Luckily I have no symptoms so far, and that means I have time to write! 
> 
> As always, I’m torsamors on tumblr and please consider leaving a comment, I live for them.


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